Lady and the Tramp III: Family Troubles
by DodgerNYC
Summary: Angel worries that she's not happy in her new home; an unexpected visitor then arrives for her, but this leads to trouble for everyone - Scamp away from home again and Tramp gone after him. Meanwhile, Buster comes looking for the Tramp, but he's in for a big surprise when he meets Lady for the first time. Has Lady and the Tramp's happy family life really been broken up for good?
1. My Troubled Angel

Chapter One

A quaint little town, found somewhere or other in charming New England, was abuzz with the energy and laziness the start of late summer brought.

Young children ran around in the front yards of their homes, in the not-too-busy streets of the town, or really, in any other place that struck their fancy. The kids laughed as they jumped up and down in a game of hop-scotch on the town's many sidewalks. Down by the river, overlooked by the tall wooden bridge and train tracks, a little girl sat on a picnic blanket reading a book by the light of the afternoon; a little boy ran up to her from the riverbed and threw his newly-caught frog on her, hoping to either impress or scare her (the two actions were really quite interchangeable at their young age). All of the local children were enjoying their remaining, relaxing hours of summer break, glad to be away from the boredom of homework and the musty reek of ancient textbooks.

Far across town, in a rather wealthy part of the neighborhood, a dog yawned to the lazy afternoon. The yawning canine was laying on the front porch of a large white house, a relaxing spot where he nowadays often enjoyed snoozing away the daylight hours.

This was, however, no ordinary dog yawning on his owners' porch. In what seemed like a lifetime ago (but was in reality a matter of months, almost a year now), he had been held in high esteem among the numerous collar-free street dogs of the town. To them, he had been the Tramp.

_Ah, yes. The King of the Junkyard Dogs, the greatest street dog this town had ever seen_, the Tramp thought to himself, almost laughing at the absurdity of his reputation as the "greatest" of those poor dogs who had no consistent supply of food, no promise of safety on the dangerous streets, no real place to call home.

_That really was a lifetime ago. But hey, I've never been one to dwell on times of old_, the now-collared, now-tame dog thought.

"Dad!"

But he was more than a collared house dog now; he was a father to three well-mannered daughters and one poorly-behaved son.

Said son had come running around to the front porch from the backyard, looking for his dad. Like his father, the young dog - still just a puppy, really - had the floppy ears and scruffy, scraggly gray fur of a Schnauzer. Despite looking exactly like his mixed-Schnauzer mutt of a father, little Scamp was actually half purebred Cocker Spaniel. You'd just never know it by looking at him.

"Dad! Have you seen Angel around anywhere?" Scamp worriedly asked his father.

"Can't say that I have, Whirlwind… but I _did_ just sleep all morning," the Tramp shrugged, doing little to calm his worried son, "Why? Is she missing?"

"I don't know! I saw Angel yesterday, but I haven't seen her all day so far, and…" Scamp started to say, but trailed off sadly.

"And what?" his dad pressed.

"…and I don't think she's been feeling well the past few days," Scamp admitted.

"What? Is she sick?" the Tramp asked with immediate concern.

"N- No… but I think she's _sad_."

To this, the Tramp had no immediate response. His son's upsetting news about Angel came as no real shock to the Tramp, for he'd been worried that this would happen. He had feared that Angel would not like living in their house, or that she might feel as if she didn't belong. Whatever the exact reason, it concerned him that Angel was upset.

"Do you know why she's sad, Whirlwind?" the Tramp asked, jumping off the porch to join Scamp in the yard, "Has she talked to you about it?"

"No. She's never actually told me she's sad, but… I can just tell. It's the way she's acting," Scamp tried to explain.

"She acts _depressed_?"

"Kind of, yeah. At least, she has been for the past couple days… but today I can't find her!" the puppy worried, his eyes darting all over the yard in the hopes that Angel was hiding there somewhere.

"Okay, son. You've gotten me worried now, so let's go see if we can track her down," he suggested. Scamp nodded his head and followed his dad around to the backyard. The two mutts searched all around but couldn't find her in the yard.

They next entered the house, first checking the living room. Their owners, Jim Dear and Darling, were sitting with their little son, Junior, on the couch. Lady, their lovely Cocker Spaniel and the mother of the Tramp's puppies, was lying down on the carpet with their three daughters, Annette, Collette, and Danielle. Just like how Scamp looked exactly like his dad and nothing like his mom, the three girls had the same long, beautiful golden-brown fur as their mother, but looked nothing at all like their father. It was strange.

But for the moment, all that mattered was that Angel was not there with the rest of the family. The Tramp and Scamp moved on to check the kitchen, the hall, the parlor, and the rest of the ground floor, then walked up the staircase to see if she was upstairs. Angel was not to be found in the master bedroom, and when they entered Junior's bedroom they found it empty as well.

Before they left, the Tramp heard quiet breathing coming from Junior's closet. The door was left slightly ajar, and when Scamp slowly pushed the creaky closet door open, there lay Angel. She was curled up as if she were asleep, but her eyes were open.

"A- Angel?" Scamp quietly asked.

"…Hey, Tenderfoot," Angel sighed.

The little dog, barely more than a puppy like Scamp, was really quite lovely. Her short fur was a soft cream color, her ears pointed, and her tail curled and very fluffy. Angel even had a brand-new yellow collar the family had bought her when they adopted her off the streets. However, Angel's lavender eyes gave away her sadness.

"Angel, what's wrong?" Scamp asked her, looking ready to burst with worry, "Have you been hiding up here all day?"

"Yeah… Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you," Angel apologized, then got up and walked out of the closet, "Just wanted some alone time."

"Angel, are you sad? Depressed? Please, tell us what's wrong," the Tramp asked her, every bit as concerned as his son.

"…No. No, I'm not sad. I've just been… thinking," Angel explained half-heartedly, "I guess I'm just a bit troubled."

Scamp started to ask what was troubling her, but his dad shook his head for him to stay quiet. Taking a deep breath, the Tramp asked, "Angel… is it about you living here with us now? Aren't you happy here?"

"Of course I'm happy here. You all have been so nice to me… It's just that I…" Angel started to answer, but fell silent. She sighed, then answered, "…I've just been in one of those moods, y'know? Just been feeling quiet lately. That's all."

She smiled and shrugged as he told them this. Not entirely buying it, the Tramp asked, "Are you sure that's all there is to it?"

"Yeah. I'll feel better tomorrow, I'm sure," Angel smiled again, then left Junior's bedroom and made her way down the stairs.

Scamp turned to his dad and sighed, "I hope it really is just a mood."

"Maybe it is. I'm sure she's fine, Whirlwind," the Tramp grinned.

From downstairs, they heard Jim Dear call out, "Tramp! Where are you?"

It sounded like Jim Dear was ready for their afternoon walk. As the mutt came down the stairs, the man smiled, "Tramp! There you are! Let's go, boy!"

The Tramp was very glad that Jim Dear and Darling had decided to simply name him "Tramp" when they took him in from the streets. Sure, it was an awfully big coincidence, but it saved him the trouble of having to get used to a new name for himself (He'd already had to deal with Butch, Mikey, and Fritz).

When Angel entered the living room, Junior happily called out her name, "Angel! Angel!"

She put on a smile and went to play with the child; out in the hall, Tramp laughed to himself as he thought about what an even bigger coincidence it was that their owners had decided to name her "Angel," the name she had already been going by on the streets. Well, it was easier for everyone this way.

Jim Dear and Tramp walked out the door together, leaving for their afternoon walk around the neighborhood. Scamp, glad that Angel was okay after all, went back outside to run around the yard for another hour or so.

Once Tramp and Scamp were both out of the house, Angel slipped away from Junior and walked back up the stairs. She really did hate lying to the two of them, especially to Scamp, but she just didn't know how to tell them why she was feeling so sad, so depressed in this wonderful family that loved her.

Back up in Junior's closet, Angel curled up once again. She sighed, closed her eyes, and tried to fall asleep.

_They wouldn't really be able to understand… They don't know what it's like to have gone through _five_ different families, each exactly like this one here… none of those worked out, so why should… _Angel thought with a heavy heart, sighing again. It should be so easy to be happy in this kind, loving home, so why couldn't she be? _Everyone's been so nice to me… but I just don't know if I can call it home… when I've never had a real home before. _


	2. Surprise Visit

Chapter Two

She was really quite a jailbird. Her life, for the past year, had consisted of much more spent inside a jail cell than she would have liked.

Of course, no human actually referred to the place as "jail." She knew the dogcatchers called it "the pound," but they could call it whatever they pleased. In her opinion, any place where you're held captive against your will fully qualified as "jail."

But today, she was a free dog out and about the town, once again living the good life of no rules and no collars. A street dog once again. Three days ago she had been stuck in "the pound" for the millionth time, but she and Bull the English Bulldog had made their great escape through a tunnel that the most frequently-jailed dogs had finally finished digging a couple months ago (to this day, none of the dogcatchers had realized that this was the jail dogs' method of escaping the pound - it was common speculation that hardly any of their jailers actually cared anymore).

Right now, she was enjoying the remaining scraps of some family's chicken dinner, dug out of a dumped-over trashcan - it wasn't pretty, sure, but a dog had to eat. As she was finishing up her rather-pathetic morsel of a meal, she heard a familiar voice call out her name.

"_Peg_! Ha ha! So here's where ya' ran off to!" her friend Bull, the good-natured but fairly dim-witted English Bulldog, laughed heartily with his Cockney accent as he joined her beside the overturned trashcans in the alleyway.

"Thought our plan was to stick together after getting outta' the pound, Bull," Peg laughed as well.

"Well, that _was_ the plan, but I kinda' lost track a' you after that dogcatcher chased us inta' the junkyard," Bull shrugged, sticking his nose into the dumped-out garbage in the hopes of sniffing out some edible scraps.

"You didn't have to ditch the dogcatcher _and _me," she rolled her eyes at Bull.

"Sorry, Peggy, but it's every dog for himself in this town," Bull told her flatly. The bulldog's eyes lit up as he spotted a piece of pork he's uncovered in the trash.

"Is that pork? Wow, don't mind if I do!" Peg said, quickly snatching up and scarfing down the pork before Bull could get it.

"_Hey_! What was _that_ for, Peggy?"

"Sorry, Bull, but it's every dog for herself in this town," Peggy told him flatly.

He paused for a moment, wondering why she'd repeated him. After a couple of seconds he finally got it, though, "Oh! Well… I woulda' let ya' outta' the dogcatcher's car if you'd been in trouble. Really, I woulda'."

"It's alright, big boy. I appreciate your friendship," Peg said to put an end to their bicker.

"You, uh, you gonna stick around this part a' town?" Bull asked, referring to the hectic, dangerous downtown most of the town's street dogs lived in. After all, it was always easier to snag a bite to eat or dig up some leftover scraps in this busier area of their New England town.

"Actually… I was planning on heading uptown to Snob Hill," Peg told the bulldog. He was very surprised by the news, understandably so.

"_Snob Hill_? Why would ya' wanna' go _there_, Peggy? They gots all sortsa' mean old dogcatchers up there!" Bull told her frantically. Despite how dim-witted the Cockney bulldog could be, this time he knew what he was talking about. The rich uptown always had more dogcatchers and police patrolling around to ensure no collarless mutts endangered the spoiled pets of Snob Hill's wealthy residents.

"I know that, Bull," Peg roller her eyes, "But maybe I happen to have a good reason for going uptown."

"Which is?"

"Personal," she said curtly, but couldn't resist a smile.

"Well, ya' take care now, Peggy," the bulldog told her as she began to walk away. Bull then stuck his nose back in the garbage and resumed looking for food. Seeing as his bulldog face was very flat and scrunched-up, his whole face ended up covered in the garbage.

"See ya'," Peg said, again rolling her eyes, walking out of the alley and out onto a town street. She always had friends like Bull, sure, but Peg knew she couldn't call them real friends. Then again, when was a street dog ever allowed real friends anyways?

And Peg was sick of it. She was so tired of being out on the streets or in the pound by herself, no one but her fellow street and jail dogs for company - but they were never real company, all of them merely set on surviving. It was so lonely, and Peg would do anything to have friends, family with her on the streets.

But that was why she was heading up to Snob Hill. If all went well, she would no longer be alone on the streets of the town.

* * *

Jim Dear was strolling down the sidewalk, taking his dogs out on their daily walk. Right now, he was walking Tramp and Angel, already having taken Danielle, Annette, and Collette out earlier that morning, and planning on walking Lady and Scamp that evening.

"Nice to get out and stretch your legs like this, huh Angel?" Tramp asked her happily.

"I guess," Angel shrugged.

"You still not feeling well? Are you sure it's just a mood?" he asked with concern, but she immediately perked up and gave him a lovely smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Angel barked happily, eyeing some food scraps that had been dumped out of a turned-over trashcan on the sidewalk up ahead of them, "I'm just hungry!"

With that, she darted ahead and grabbed a dirty old piece of bacon lying in the garbage, quickly wolfing it down. Jim Dear looked quite shocked.

"Angel! Don't eat that, girl! I can feed you when we get home," their owner scolded her. Angel's ears drooped sadly; she looked up at Tramp, hoping he would grin and tell her that Jim Dear didn't know what he was talking about because he'd never tried leftover-alleyway-bacon and couldn't know how good it was.

"You don't need to dig around dirty alleys for food anymore," Tramp told her off. That certainly was aggravating - after all, which of them had been known as the greatest street dog of all time not too long ago? Had he forgotten how fortunate it was to find a decent piece of meat in the garbage?

Oblivious to her annoyance, Tramp grinned at Angel and said, "Besides, why settle for leftover bacon when our local Tony's gives out fine food to any loveable dog who asks nicely?"

_So that's it, huh? He'll play at still being _the_ Tramp while enjoying the luxuries of a collared life?_ Angel thought in irritation.

Sighing to herself, Angel of course felt bad for thinking angrily about Tramp when he and his family had been so nice to her. She was just glad when the three of them arrived back at their house, glad that she could go back to lying down and having some alone time.

Upon entering their yard, Jim Dear let him off his leash and Tramp happily jumped up on the front porch, stretching out contently before flopping down for a nap. Was it really that hard for Angel to be able to just happily flop down like that and take a snooze? This was a perfect, loving home, so why couldn't it be _her_ home?

_Why can't I just be happy here? Why can't I settle down in the house? _Angel thought miserably. There was no way to describe how bad she felt, so foolish, so ungrateful, so unappreciative. _I've gotten exactly what I always wanted. This family loves me, I'm with Scamp and Tramp and Lady… everyone's so nice to me. Why hasn't getting what I wanted most made me happy?_

"Angel!"

She turned around to look at the dog who had called out her name. When she saw who it was, a dog she hadn't seen for a long time, Angel's eyes lit up in shock.

Tramp poked his head up at the scent of a strange dog entering their yard, but before he barked he realized that this wasn't a stranger's scent at all. It was one he recognized, but hadn't smelled for quite some time.

"What are you doing up in this part of town? Looking for me?" Tramp asked the familiar female dog, who just smiled.

She had creamy white fur that was very fluffy and very dirty, scraggly from a long life as a street dog. The hair on her head covered most of her face, her ears were long and particularly poofy, and her tail was fluffy and curled. Of course, there was no collar around her neck.

This surprise visitor was a mutt, but it was difficult to tell exactly what mix of breeds she was, perhaps a Pomeranian, a Lhasa Apso, or a spaniel. Then again, many street dogs of the town were an indistinguishable mix of breeds.

She grinned at Tramp, "You'd like me to have come here looking for you, wouldn't you, handsome?"

"None of that, Peg. I've settled down with Lady now," he told her sternly.

"Oh, _darn_," Peg grinned deviously, "Well, believe it or not, I'm not here for you. You just happen to be an added bonus."

"Then what brings you here?"

"Her," Peg said, turning her gaze on the other dog in the yard with them, "Angel, my daughter."

"What? She's your _daughter_?" Tramp asked incredulously.

"Well, I think _I_ should know," Peg laughed, rolling her eyes in amusement at Tramp's shock, "Oh, it's good it see you again, Tramp."

Tramp did not take it so lightly. He turned to Angel, still shocked over Peg's oh-so-casual revelation, "Angel? Is this true? Is she your mother?"

Slowly, Angel nodded her head.


	3. Suspicions

Chapter Three

"I haven't seen you in ages," Angel told her mother sadly. Even though her voice remained steady, Tramp thought he could detect a quiet, longing affection hidden in it.

"I know," Peg sighed, giving her daughter an apologetic look, "I know I've not seen ya' much. It's a little hard, seeing as I'm stuck in the pound so frequently… and what with us both spending all our time running from the dogcatchers…"

"But I haven't seen you since I joined the Junkyard Dogs! And that was months ago!" Angel asked.

"Listen… I _knew_ you had joined up with those junkyard mutts. I knew where to find you every time I escaped from the pound, but… I figured you'd be safer with that gang than with me. After all, there's safety in numbers, and the dogcatchers were chasing me all the time… I hoped you'd have a better chance at not being caught if ya' didn't hang around me."

"I'm not sure how safe I was with the Junkyard Dogs… Buster's trouble was Buster's trouble," Angel rolled her eyes, remembering the time she had spent with them.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute," Tramp asked the mother from his spot on the porch, "You knew where your daughter was but never bothered seeing her?"

Angel and Peg were both quiet, Angel looking at her mother expectantly. Peg simply shrugged and said nothing.

"Did you just not want to see me anymore? Was that it?" Angel barked at her.

"If I never wanted to see you again, why did I come find you here today?"

"I don't know, why did you?" Angel retaliated.

"Well, because I miss you," Peg said bluntly, as if it were completely obvious, "Baby, I'm _lonely _all by myself in this town. I know other street dogs, yeah, but none of them are really friends."

"What about me? Wasn't I your friend, Peggy?" Tramp spoke up.

"You kinda' disappeared off the streets last year, handsome."

"Oh. Right."

"Tramp, what's going on? Who are you talking with?" a voice was heard coming around the side of the house. Lady - Jim Dear and Darling's first dog, their lovely little Cocker Spaniel - came up to join Tramp, Angel, and Peg in the front yard.

"Pidge!" Tramp exclaimed, jumping off the porch to stand beside her in the grass.

"Hey… I remember you. You were with me in that awful pound last year, weren't you?" Lady asked Peg upon seeing her.

"Sure was, hon," Peg grinned.

"Are you here to see… Tramp?" Lady asked hesitantly, almost fearfully.

Before Peg could answer, Tramp spoke out, "No, she's here for Angel. Her daughter."

"What? You're Angel's mother?" a surprised Lady asked.

Peg rolled her eyes, finding amusement in everyone's shock at this revelation, "Well, we _do_ kinda' look alike."

"I was with her on the streets as a young puppy, but when I got older… we didn't see each other much anymore," Angel explained to a very confused Lady, "After I joined Buster's Junkyard Dogs… well… I never saw her after that."

"Until now," Tramp pointed out.

"So… why have you come, then?" Lady asked Peg curiously.

But before Peg could explain herself, she was again cut off, this time by Scamp coming through the porch door, "Hey, Dad, do you wanna' go- "

When he saw his dad, mom, and Angel all with a dog he'd never seen before, Scamp asked, "Uh… who's this? A friend of yours, Dad?"

"Yes, we were _very_ close friends," Peg winked at Tramp, causing Lady to give a little humph.

"She's my mom, Tenderfoot," Angel told him. Peg nodded to confirm this.

"Really? Wow!" Scamp exclaimed excitedly, "Nice to meet you, Miss… uh…"

"I'm Peg. Nice to meet you too, kid," Peg grinned, then turned to Tramp, "Geez, he looks exactly like you, handsome."

Lady looked rather irritated at Peg's flirtatious tone. Tramp didn't notice this, however, and asked Peg again, "Now, why did you come all the way up here? Was it just to see Angel?"

"Yeah, that," Peg nodded, but continued on, "But also… well, like I said, I don't want to be all by myself on these streets anymore… and I was wondering if maybe… maybe Angel would like to come away with me."

All of the dogs were stunned speechless at Peg's unexpected request.

"…What do you mean? Live on the streets with you again?" Angel eventually asked.

"Yeah. I… I realize now how wrong it was of me to have never seen you after you joined up with Buster's gang…" her mother sighed, looking really, truly apologetic for the first time, "…I don't know whether or not you really were safer away from me, but… I really missed being with you, baby. You see, I'd gotten word that you had come to live with the Tramp up here in Snob Hill, and when I escaped the pound a few days ago, I… I thought I would find you here and… ask you if you'd come be with me again, just like we used to be… Please, Angel. Come away with me."

Every dog in the Darlings' yard was quiet. Tramp and Lady had their eyes fixed on Angel, waiting on her response. Peg also gazed at her daughter, and Angel could see a loving, pleading look in her mother's eyes. But it was Scamp who spoke out first.

"But Angel lives with us now! Jim Dear and Darling adopted her!" Scamp said rather frantically, his eyes darting to his father, mother, and Angel, "We're the family Angel always wanted! She's _happy_ here!"

Tramp and Lady looked nervously over at Angel, trying to detect a hint of her feelings on the matter. But Angel was keeping her face still and emotionless.

"…You're right," Peg sighed after a long silence, "I'm sure Angel's happier here with you all. She's better off with your family. I just… I just thought I'd ask."

"Mom!" Angel suddenly barked, "You… You asked me to come _away_ with you. Are you leaving this town?"

"Yep. I'm planning on hitting the high road and ditching this old place," Peg shrugged, "I'm tired of being in and out of the pound, and there's nothing left for me in this town… except for you."

So her mother was moving on from their quaint little town. _That's why she wants me to leave with her. Mom will never see me again otherwise,_ Angel realized sadly.

"Well, Angel's staying here with us!" Scamp declared boldly.

"Whirlwind… you can't decide that for her," his dad told him quietly.

"But she _does_ want to stay here… don't you, Angel?" Scamp asked nervously.

Angel didn't reply to him, just staring at the ground silently, no longer meeting anyone's eyes.

"No, he's right… She should stay here. She's well taken care of here and given good food… this is her new home. What right do I have to take here away from you?" Peg said, sounding sad but resolved. She then turned to leave their yard.

"Wait! Mom!" Angel called out to her, "You're not leaving the town right now, are you?"

"I'll leave tomorrow night, just in case ya' change your mind. If you do decide to come with me… you know where to find me," Peg told her daughter, then continued through the open gate and out of their yard, "Goodbye, baby. And nice seeing ya' again, handsome."

Peg winked at Tramp, casting him a devious grin before leaving the yard for good. Angel watched her disappear down the street, then sighed sadly.

"I'm glad you're staying with us, Angel! I would've been so sad if you left!" Scamp woofed happily.

But Angel didn't reply, didn't even look at Scamp. Instead, she trudged into the house with her head bowed, not saying a word.

"…I'm sure she's just tired," Lady told her son gently.

"Yes. It must be hard for her, seeing her mother again after such a long time," Tramp said, then smiled to himself, "Come to think of it, _I _haven't seen sweet old Peggy for a while, either."

For some reason, Lady seemed a little irked again, but Tramp didn't notice. He followed Angel into the house, Scamp going in after him. Lady sighed, then also went inside.

* * *

Later that evening, it was time for Jim Dear to take Lady and Scamp on their walk, so he attached their leashed and led them out the door. Walking down the street, Scamp looked up at his mother and asked, "You… You don't really think Angel wanted to leave with her mom, do you?"

"I really can't say, Scamp. But Peg _is_ her mother. Angel probably misses her more than you know," Lady told her son, "Could you imagine if you and I were apart for a very long time? Would you miss me?"

"Of course I would, Momma!" he immediately replied, but then realized what that meant for Angel, "But… Angel wouldn't leave us. She wouldn't leave _me_, would she?"

"I don't know. But no matter what happ- "

Lady's words of assurance were cut short when she glanced none other than her Tramp walking past the opposite end of the alleyway she stood in front of.

_Tramp? What's he doing out on the streets? Where is he going this late in the evening? _Lady thought frantically.

"Come on, girl, let's keep going," Jim Dear said, tugging on her leash to pull Lady away from the entrance to that alley. Reluctantly, Lady left.

_I know I saw Tramp pass by on the other side! I know it was him! _Lady thought worriedly. Now she just wondered what exactly he was doing out and about the town.

Thinking back to their unusual afternoon, Lady remembered Peg saying that she would be around this part of town until tomorrow night… and Tramp had certainly heard her say so.

Was it wrong of her to have such suspicious, untrustworthy thoughts about Tramp? What about Peg's flirty attitude with him that afternoon? And Lady did know Peg and Tramp had a history together… she learned _that_ in the pound last year…

Lady knew in her heart it was wrong, but Tramp's womanizing past had always been whispering in the back of her mind, had always been something that bothered her. Tramp knew it had upset her… he just didn't know it _still _upset her.

"Momma? You alright? You're awfully quiet," Scamp asked her.

"…Yes. I'm fine. Just tired," Lady smiled, "Come on, let's get home."

While Jim Dear led Lady and Scamp back to the house, Tramp was making his way through familiar streets and alleys as quietly as possible. He was following a smell, trying to track it back to the owner.

Tramp jumped on a trash bin and leapt over a gated fence, groaning as he landing ungracefully on the other side. He wasn't as young and agile as he used to be, that was for sure.

The trail led him through a couple more alleys to a secluded space behind some buildings. Sure enough, there lay the dog he had been tracking down.

"Been looking everywhere for you," Tramp smiled.

"You found me," Peg grinned deviously, batting her eyes at him, "I'd always wished I would travel your way again, handsome."


	4. Late Night

Chapter Four

"Guess it's just you and me, handsome… all alone tonight," Peg smiled, edging closer to Tramp and brushing against his fur.

"I told you, Peggy, I'm with Lady now. I'm loyal to her," Tramp told her sternly, moving away from her.

"Oh, poo," Peg grinned, playfully hitting his face with her bushy tail.

"I'm serious, Peg. I'm not like that anymore, I've settled down."

"_Sure_ ya' have," she said, rolling her eyes with a smile, "Well, if ya' didn't come out here for a little fun, what do you want with me?"

"Maybe I just wanted to see my old friend before she leaves town," Tramp said, sitting himself down beside her.

"Maybe," Peg repeated slyly, "…But I get the feeling that's not all ya' came to me for."

Tramp sighed, looking up at the starry sky, visible over the town rooftops, "…You're right. I came to talk to you about Angel."

"Figured," she sighed, "What about her?"

"Is she… mine?"

This question seemed to take Peg off guard. At first she just stared at him, but Peg then gave a small laugh, "You think she's _your_ daughter, handsome?"

"Tell me she's not."

"She's not. Angel's dad was just a dog that got thrown in the pound with me a while ago," Peg explained to him, "And if there's one place the Tramp never was, it was the pound."

"I got close once," Tramp said, thinking back to how Lady's two friends, Jock and Trusty, had saved him; Trusty even broke his leg doing so.

"It was more than once if I remember right," Peg grinned, but then shook her head in disbelief, "Man, ya' really used to live on the edge, enjoying life as a collar-free street dog! What happened to you?"

"I fell in love with a very special Cocker Spaniel," Tramp smiled, "For her, I gave up really living on the edge as a collar-free street dog."

"And you've never regretted it? Not even once?"

"Never. Not even once."

She was quiet for a moment, but then broke out into a smile and shook her head back and forth, "Wow… What I would give to be loved like that…"

"But you have another great kind of love in your life," Tramp told her. Peg raised an eyebrow, and he answered, "…You're daughter's love."

"Angel… Do ya' really think she loves her poor old mother?" Peg asked sadly.

"I know she does. I could tell this afternoon… Angel does love you."

"Then I wish she'd leave town with me," Peg sighed, "I'll really miss her."

"Why are you leaving, anyways? And where will you go?" Tramp asked curiously.

"I dunno'. I guess I just want to see what my life can be like outside of this town and all its dogcatchers… I don't really have any friends here. I'd stay for _you_, but you're taken, so why should I stay?"

"Well, you'd be with Angel if you stayed."

"I'd also be with her if she left with me," Peg pointed out dryly.

"That's her decision to make," Tramp said.

Peg nodded in agreement, then rubbed her head against Tramp's fur affectionately, "Well, I guess I'll leave ya' be, then… as long as you're sure ya' don't want to- "

" -I'm sure. But thanks anyways," Tramp laughed.

Peg reached up and licked his cheek, "Goodbye, handsome. It was nice seeing ya' one last time."

"Nice seeing you too, Peggy. I'll miss you."

* * *

"Scamp… will you take a walk with me?"

"It's really late, Angel…"

"I need to talk with you."

Sleepy as he was, Scamp could understand the urgency of her request. He got up from his doggy bed, yawned, and followed Angel outside the back door and into the yard, glad to have not woken anyone up.

"I wonder where Dad went," Scamp said quietly. Tramp had briefly mentioned needing to go out for some fresh air, but he had been gone for hours now and it was very late.

"Scamp… I…" Angel started, but fell silent.

"What's wrong? What is it?" he asked.

"Look, let's… let's walk into town, okay?"

"Um… okay," Scamp shrugged, but nevertheless followed Angel out of the yard by crawling under an opening in the fence.

As they walked down the sidewalk together, Angel slowly began to speak, "Scamp… I never told you about my previous families, did I?"

"Well, you said that they all took you in but then kicked you back out because of allergies or a new baby or something like that," Scamp told her.

"That's… not entirely true."

"What do you mean?" Scamp asked in confusion.

Angel had led Scamp to one of the town's back alleys. Suddenly, Scamp realized that it was the same alley where he first talked to Angel nearly two months ago.

"…Angel?"

"Scamp, I… I have to tell you something that I've never told anyone else," she began hesitantly. Scamp nodded for her to continue, so Angel took a deep breath and spoke.

"…The first people who took me in threw me back out because the woman was allergic to me. The second family had a new baby and were scared that a vicious street dog like me would hurt it… and the third family… well, I don't even know why they kicked me out. They just did."

"Oh, Angel, that's awful!" Scamp comforted, but Angel ignored him and continued talking.

"Then I fell in with the Junkyard Dogs, but a fourth family adopted me, and… well, they were nice. They really liked me. But I… I was just so nervous, so scared that they'd kick me out again for some stupid reason that… I left them myself."

"_What_? Why would you leave them if they were nice to you?" Scamp asked, very confused.

Tears began to well up in her eyes, though Angel did her best to fight them back, "I don't know why I left… Maybe I thought I was better off with the Junkyard Dogs, but maybe I… maybe I actually preferred living on the streets."

"What about a _family_? Didn't you want a family?"

"I did want one! I still do! Really, I do," Angel sighed.

"But… don't you already have one with us?" Scamp asked nervously.

She didn't answer him. After a quiet moment, Angel continued her story, "I left that family and went back to Buster's gang. I never once told him where I had gone… you know his opinion of house dogs. But after a while, I was found by my fifth family, and they were great, too. The people fed me, played with me, and loved me, but… I ran away from them again and went back to Buster. I really had everything I wanted… and I left them."

"But why? Why would you do that, Angel?" Scamp asked her, "If you had a family that loved you, why would you leave them?"

"Because maybe I never really wanted a family as much as I always told myself I did!" she barked, tears now falling down her cheeks and wetting her fur, "Maybe this isn't as black and white as living on the streets or living with a family! Don't you understand, Scamp? I'm _scared_ of living as a house dog! I'm scared of being kicked out again, so I always just leave on my own!"

"But if you keep going on like that, you'll never have a family to call your own!" Scamp barked at her.

"I know that. And I want a family so, so bad, but… I'm just not brave enough to stay with one," Angel cried softly, "…I'm sorry, Tenderfoot."

"Angel… you can't mean you're…" Scamp started to ask, too horrified to finish.

"I'm so sorry… but I'm leaving. I brought you out here tonight so I could… so I could say goodbye," Angel whispered, sniffing back her tears.

"No! No, please! Don't go!" Scamp begged, starting to cry himself, "Don't leave, Angel! We all love you! I love you!"

"It's puppy love, Tenderfoot," Angel told him quietly, "I love you, too, but… I love my mom more. I'm going to leave town with her. I _want_ to leave with her."

"Angel! Angel, please!" he begged and begged, his breathing quickening, his heart pounding frantically.

She leapt up onto a trashcan, jumped over to another, and then smoothly jumped up to the top of a high fence in the alley. Angel looked back down at Scamp and whispered, "Goodbye, Tenderfoot. Please don't follow me."

With that, Angel disappeared over the fence and quickly ran off down the street. Scamp tried to jump up onto the trashcans like she had to chase after her, but he stumbled, knocking over all the trashcans and falling to the ground.

"Angel! Angel, come back!" he called out, trying in vain to jump the fence, "Angel! _Angel_!"


	5. The Runaways

Chapter Five

The early morning sun shone out over the rooftops of the town while Tramp walked casually down the sidewalks and through the alleys. He yawned, not having gotten much sleep that night after his late talk with Peg. Tramp took all the shortcuts through the town alleyways that he knew so well, hoping to get home before Lady woke up. He didn't want her to be too worried about him.

However, when Tramp turned into the next alley, he stumbled upon his own son, Scamp, asleep on the ground.

"Whirlwind?" Tramp asked, prodding the puppy awake with his paw, "Whirlwind, what are you doing out here?"

"…A- Angel? _Angel_!" Scamp yelped as he woke up, immediately running around the alley in a frenzy, "Angel! Where did you go?"

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down, Whirlwind!" he dad woofed to calm him down, putting a comforting paw around his frantic son, "What are you talking about? What about Angel? And what are you doing out here and not at home?"

"I… we… L- Last night, Angel asked me to walk out into town with her. She seemed upset again, so we went out and she…" Scamp explained, starting to tear up, "…she ran away!"

"What do you mean she ran away? She couldn't just- " Tramp asked, but then the realization of what must have happened sunk in, "Oh… You mean Angel… Angel ran away with Peggy."

"Yeah! She - wait, _Peggy_?"

"I mean, uh, Peg. Angel's mother, Peg," his dad hastily tried to correct his use of the affectionate name, "But Angel really did leave with her?"

"Yes! She ditched me last night to track down her mom! Oh, I can't believe she wasn't happy with us!" the puppy whimpered, trying to sniff back his tears so his father wouldn't see him cry, "I've- I've gotta go after her and bring her back! I was trying to follow her last night, but I- I fell asleep here, and I- "

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, calm down. Take a deep breath," Tramp told him kindly.

Scamp did so, then cleared his throat, "Dad… I'm going after Angel! I have to!"

"Whirlwind… Listen, if Angel chose to run away with her mother, you really don't have any say over the matter," the mutt explained to his son as compassionately as he could, "Angel's always been free to make her own choices. She chose to stay with us for a little while, but now she's chosen to leave with her mother. Is that so wrong of her?"

Scamp's face fell, and he whispered broken-heartedly, "But… I love her, Dad."

"Whirlwind, you're a _puppy_. I know you like her a lot, but you don't love her - truth be told, you barely even _know_ her," Tramp tried to reason with Scamp, "You can't just say you love her after a couple days- "

" -A couple days?" Scamp repeated, anger flushing across his face, "And how long did you know Mom before deciding you _loved_ her? Oh, right, just a couple days!"

"Scamp, that's enough. I'm sorry Angel decided she didn't want to stay with you, but that's _her_ decision, not yours," his father told him sternly, "Now let's get back to the house."

"_No_! I won't lose her, Dad! I _won't_!" Scamp barked. Before Tramp could do or say a thing, Scamp had darted out of the alleyway, looking back and shouting, "I'm gonna bring her back home!"

"Scamp! Scamp, stop this! Come back!" Tramp yelled, instantly running after his son. However, a night with little sleep, not to mention his out-of-tune skills and lack of youthfulness, all took their toll. Tramp couldn't keep up.

"Whirlwind! Whirlwind!" he called out hopelessly, racing into an alley he saw Scamp enter. But his son had already jumped the fence ahead of Tramp, evident by the overturned trash bins and boxes. On his second try, Tramp managed to get over the wooden fence himself, just in time to see Scamp disappear into the next alley far ahead of him. Tramp tried to pursue him, but his leg ached from landing poorly over the fence and he could run no further, losing sight of his son altogether.

"Oh, Scamp…" the mutt sighed, shaking his head back and forth sadly, "You're gone again."

* * *

"M- Mom?" a voice peeked out from behind a trashcan in the alley.

Peg almost jumped in surprise and joy upon seeing her daughter again, "Angel! Angel, you came! Oh, I hoped an' hoped ya' would, but I didn't think that you'd- you'd actually- "

"I did," Angel beamed at her mother's joy, "I did come."

"My little girl! I- I know I was never there for ya' like I should've been - I know I was a terrible mother to ya', sweetheart," Peg apologized with a sad smile.

"Oh, no, Mom! You weren't a terrible mother! I- I _do _wish we hadn't become so distant, and… well…" the daughter smiled warmly, "…I really missed you… now I realize just how much I did."

"I missed you too, honey… and I'm glad ya' remembered where ta' meet up," Peg grinned, looking around at the alley they stood in. It was nothing special, just several trashcans lining the brick wall, a pile of newspapers and worn-out, moth-eaten blankets, and of course, the occasional rat scampering through the mud on the ground.

"How could I not remember? This alley is where we met up whenever we had to ditch a dogcatcher," Angel laughed. Of course she knew what her mother had meant when she'd said "you know where to find me." Where else but their old meeting spot?

"We hid here from other dogs, too. Remember the time we had to run from that brute Reggie after you stole his can?"

"I remember _you_ stealing that can of his, Momma," Angel said with a grin, "But mean old Reggie got himself locked up in the pound recently."

"Yeah, I know," Peg chuckled, "I saw him there myself just a few days ago. How'd he get caught, anyways?"

"Scamp did it! Reggie was chasing Scamp because of a stupid test Buster him up to, but then a dogcatcher got me in his net. Scamp freed me and ended up getting Reggie caught instead!" Angel recounted happily, but then her face fell, "Scamp was so… _brave. _H- He was brave for me."

"…What's wrong?" her mother asked, hearing Angel's voice starting to shake.

Her daughter sighed, then quietly spoke, "I'm… I'm gonna miss Tenderfoot. Is it… _right _of me to just leave like this?"

"Angel, baby… I'm leaving this town to escape my life here," Peg explained to her, "But if that's not _you_ want… if you'd rather stay here with Scamp… then ya' should stay here."

"No, Momma. I want to run away with you. I'll miss everyone who's been kind to me here - Scamp especially - but I want to move on," Angel spoke, locking eyes with her loving mother, "And I want to be with _you_… because I love you, Momma."

"Ya' - Ya' really mean that?"

Angel nodded, and Peg looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Well then… let's go," Peg beamed at her young, cherished daughter, "You and me."

Her baby girl laughed, "You mean we get to be runaways, Mom?"

"Of course! We'll be the best runaways ever!"

And so, the mother and daughter mutts walked out of that alley, their memorable old meeting spot, and started on their way out of the town, two runaways going to who knew where.

* * *

Tramp made his way back to the Darling's home as quickly as his sore legs could carry him. He knew he could spare no time to be upset or angry over Scamp running away again, he just had to move as fast as possible - despite his aching joints, hurting back, and ragged breaths.

"Lady! Lady!" Tramp called out as he burst into their front yard. He had to stop there to catch his breath, but fortunately, Lady had heard him and came bolting out of their house.

"_Tramp_!" she barked, sounding much more vexed and much less concerned that he would've liked.

"Pidge! I- "

" -Where were you? What were you doing out all night long?" she asked in a tone Tramp had only ever heard when she had found out about all his past girlfriends, "You said you just needed to take a walk!"

"I _did_! C'mon, calm down, beautiful," Tramp said in the smooth-talker voice he knew she loved, but it didn't look like it would do the trick this time. With that reliable tactic failed, he hastily strung an explanation together, "I did just take a walk. But I ended up going father out that I'd planned, and it was later than I'd expected, so I decided to just go to sleep in an alley and come back here in the morning. That's all, really."

"Really? That's all?" Lady asked tersely, "That's all you did last night?"

"Yes! Pidge, I don't think I've ever seen you this angry before! I don't know what's gotten into- "

" -What's gotten into me? Maybe it's that I can smell _Peg's _scent all over you!" Lady screamed at him. She had never raised her voice so high in her life, and Tramp was stunned speechless.

"P- Pidge… You c- can't think I…" he mumbled, "You know I'd never… I wouldn't… not anymore…"

"Tramp, be honest with me," Lady ordered him, her eyes beginning to water, "Were you with Peg last night?"

"…Yes," Tramp sighed, then quickly added, "But not how you're thinking! Not in that way!"

"Then how?"

"W- We were just talking about Angel, and Peggy - I mean, _Peg_!- Peg was rubbing up on me a lot - but we did _nothing_! We just talked! Honestly, Pidge, that's all."

"Really? Because I thought you said all you did last night was take a walk," Lady threw at him, "Why did you lie to me? If you didn't just take a walk, how can I believe all you did was talk?"

"Lady, I already told you! I was _not _with Peg like that!" he barked at her, causing her to flinch in shock, "And that's not even what's important right now! Angel left town with Peg, and now Scamp's run away after her!"

"What? He ran away _again_?" Lady asked, motherly concern immediately taking over, but she soon reverted back to anger, "Why didn't you stop him?"

"I tried to, but he was too fast for me, and I- I'm not as quick as I used to be," Tramp sighed miserably, "I chased after him, but before too long I couldn't keep up."

"Oh, what are we going to do? What if he leaves town going after Angel?" Lady worried over her son.

"I'm going after him. I'll bring him back home, I promise," Tramp then started walking over to the gate, "I have to hurry! Scamp's already got a head start, and he's faster than me."

"No, no, hold on!" Lady barked, rushing over to prevent him from leaving, "We can have Jock and Trusty go with you! Trusty can track Scamp down, or maybe Jim Dear and Darling should go! I'm sure they'd know what to do!"

"No way! I know which way he was heading, and there's no time to get any other dogs to come! Scamp could already be out of town!" Tramp told her frantically, "I'm going alone."

"Tramp! Tramp, please- "

"I'll bring him back, I promise!" he declared, ignoring Lady's please for him to wait and racing out of the yard, into the street, and disappearing from Lady's sight before she could say another word.

The Cocker Spaniel's bottom lip quivered, and before she could stop herself, Lady began to cry. She cried because she was sad, yes, but more than anything, she cried because she had no idea what was going on and had no way of knowing what was going to happen next… to Scamp, to Tramp, to her… and to her and Tramp's relationship.

Their wonderful, loving home had never had to deal with these family troubles before, not even when Scamp had run away right before the Fourth of July over a month ago. Tramp had found Scamp and brought him home then… surely he'd do so again.

But what if he wasn't leaving to bring Scamp home at all? Peg tells her old flame that she's leaving town the next day, then the two of them spend the night together "just talking," and the next day her old flame just happens to up and leave too?

Lady truly did not know what to think anymore. She knew exactly what she didn't want to think, but now, it seemed more and more likely that was exactly what was happening, and the thought of it made her cry.


	6. The Junkyard Dog

Chapter Six

"Rise an' shine, Junkyard Dogs!"

The wakeup call came from a young mutt dog, a clear mix of Doberman and Rottweiler. He was standing on a mattress atop a small mountain of broken furniture and busted-up scrap metal, but the dog hopped down from the pile of trash. He landed on the equally-trashed ground of their town's local junkyard, the only place he'd ever called a home.

"Ah, c'mon! Wake up, guys! Where are ya'?" the Doberman mutt barked. Finally, his gang emerged - a tiny, frightened Chihuahua poked his head out of a dresser, and a black rat scurried out from under an overturned bathtub.

"There ya' are! Mornin', Pip!" the Doberman greeted the Chihuahua with a big grin that happened to show off his very large, very sharp teeth. Pip looked ready to faint with terror.

"An' good mornin' ta' you, Squeak!" the massive mutt said to the aptly-named black rat, who squeaked in reply.

"What would ya' like ta' do today, fellas'?" he asked his two tiny companions, "We can go steal from tha' butcher's, or we could chase tha' mailman down tha' street! Heck, we can do anythin' we want! Know why?"

Neither Pip nor Squeak harbored a guess.

"'Cause we are footloose an' collar-free, boys! We're wild street dogs!" the Doberman mutt cheered, but then looked at the rat, "…Well, except for you, Squeak. But that's okay! You're my buddy, after all, ain't ya'?"

Squeak looked at him blankly.

"Aww, c'mon! Ain't ya' Buster's buddy? Ain't ya'?"

Squeak squeaked.

"_Pfft_. Who needs ya', ya' dumb rat," the big dog, Buster, rolled his eyes and kicked the rat away with his back paw. Squeak squeaked as he was rolled back under the cracked and chipped bathtub.

"What about _you_, Pip? Ain't ya' my bud- " Buster began to ask, but noticed the Chihuahua was nowhere to be seen, "Uh… Pip? Pip, where'd ya' go?"

The dresser seemed to shake a little in fright.

"_Hmph_. Whatever. Who needs them?" Buster barked in irritation, marching off through his junkyard, "_I'm _tha' only Junkyard Dog around here!"

He leapt onto a ripped-off car top, jumped up and balanced on a bicycle wheel, then leapt and landed on a clump of trash bags set atop a mountain of junk. Buster looked below him at the heaps and piles of garbage and debris.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I got _everythin' _I need right here in my home! An' I don't need anyone else, no siree!" Buster shouted out for no real reason other than his mounting frustration.

"Don't need any of tha' old gang, no I don't!" Buster barked in defiance, but he didn't know who exactly he was defying. "Don't need Ruby or Sparky or Francois! Don't need Scratchy or Mooch!"

The Doberman Pinscher mix hung his head grumpily, then barked out, "Don't need Scamp, that's for sure! Don't even need Angel-cakes!"

Buster turned his head up to the air like a petulant child, and gave a low, menacing growl. He knew the last dog left, the one Buster realized he was defying, "…And I _don't _need the Tramp."

Right as he said so, some of the trash and junk from the bottom of the pile that he stood on gave way. In an instant, his mountain of trash collapsed and the dog came crashing to the hard ground, landing painfully on his side and crushing his left back leg terribly upon impact.

"_Aaaaagh_! Oww! Oh, my _leg_!" Buster yelped pitifully, struggling to get up after taking that fall.

Lifting his head up, he could see Squeak watching him from atop a trash bin. Squeak squeaked.

"Ya' think I'm _funny_, ya' dumb rat? Yeah, laugh it up! Go on- _OWWW_!" Buster roared out at Squeak, but then cried out in severe pain as he when he tried to put pressure on his leg by standing up. Buster toppled back to the ground, falling on the same side he'd just landed on and hurt. Squeak scurried off.

"Owww…" Buster gritted his teeth as he tried to get up once more, but couldn't. Defeated, the big Doberman mutt lay there helplessly. Buster rolled his eyes at where Squeak had been, "Sure, ya' guys just leave me. Ya' ain't no real friends."

Shutting his eyes, he sighed, "Who am I kiddin'? When've _I _had real friends?"

Unable to move, Buster couldn't help but think back to another fall he remembered taking, from when he was much younger.

The fun-loving Doberman puppy climbed up a big mountain of trash, trying to get to the top so he could pretend he was King of the Junkyard. Slowly, surely, the puppy climbed up inch by inch, but then his paw slipped and he crashed down the trash pile. He landed on a trash bag, bursting it open, and slid off to the ground below.

"Whoa, kid! Don't get ahead of yourself, now," the teasing voice of the Tramp said as he bounded over to the fallen puppy.

The little guy sniffled back some tears of embarrassment, "I- I was gonna' be King of the Junkyard!"

"Hey, c'mon now. No need to cry," the Tramp gave the small puppy an encouraging smile, "You _are _the King of the Junkyard, Buster buddy."

Buster growled the old memory away. He might still a very young dog, but that had been _ages _ago! He'd just been a puppy…

The Tramp was _not _his buddy anymore, not after he'd had the nerve to ditch him.

The injured dog lifted his head to look up at the sun in the sky. _Man, wasn't it higher than that not long ago?_ Buster thought, pretty aggravated at this point. _Come on, how long've I been lyin' here? Grrr!_

Determined not to just lie there like roadkill the rest of the day, Buster tried his hardest to push himself up. Fortunately, he managed to get back on his paws, pain still searing through his hind leg; rather shakily, very unsteadily, Buster began to limp out of the junkyard.

On his way out, he saw Squeak once again looking up at him from the garbage on the ground. Squeak squeaked.

"Why do ya' care where I'm goin'?" Buster growled in reply, gritting his teeth at the pain in his leg, "_Aagh_… Okay, okay! I'm gonna' go find that stupid traitor, the Tramp! What's it ta' you, huh?"

The rat squeaked again.

"No, I don't miss him!" Buster barked furiously, "An' he ain't my buddy no more. I was… I was gonna' find him so I can beat him up!"

Squeak tilted his head a little.

"Yeah, I _am_! I'm gonna' go get even with him once an' for all!" he insisted to the black rat, then muttered under his breath, "…I don't… _miss _him…"

Another squeak.

"I'm _NOT _lonely!" Buster roared, then marched out of the junkyard in spite of his protesting back leg.

He was absolutely not lonely, not at all. Who cared that all of his Junkyard Dogs had decided to follow Scamp's example and leave the gang? He had a better gang with Pip and Squeak, anyways.

Buster limped down the sidewalk, straining under the slightly-more-tolerable pain he now felt. He had made up his mind to go find the stupid, dumb Tramp with his stupid, dumb family in their stupid, dumb house.

Of course, Buster couldn't forget the stupid, dumb girl dog that the Tramp had ditched him for in the first place. _What's her prissy little name again? Oh, yeah… Lady._

Honestly, how many times had he and the Tramp joked about all the girls they had flirted with? The Tramp had always, _always _made it clear to him that no girl was worth actually staying with. Granted, Buster knew that the Tramp had always had the heart of a hopeless romantic - girls had been, and always would be, the Tramp's greatest weakness.

So how much of a hypocrite was the Tramp for ditching everything - the streets, freedom, a collar-free life, _him _- just for this Lady? What could possibly be so special about the dumb broad, anyways?

Buster had arrived in the super-rich part of town, known to all as Snob Hill. He'd seen the Tramp's puppy, Scamp, here for the first time and knew it was where his old "friend" now lived - if you could even count the Cushy Pillow Life as living, which of course Buster didn't.

He found the wooden fence that Scamp had been stuck behind on his chain, meaning that Buster had found the Tramp's cozy little home. He didn't see any way he could jump over the tall white fence - not with his back leg the way it was - and Buster instead limped around to the front of the house.

Honestly, Buster didn't even know why he was here. He had told Squeak that he'd come looking to pick a fight, but Squeak had told him that he'd come here because he secretly missed his friend. But what did it matter why he'd come? He was here now.

"Yo', where's the Tramp? C'mon, I know ya' around here someplace!" Buster barked rather obnoxiously, loud enough so the Tramp could hear him even from inside the house, "Where are ya', old buddy? Huh? Where are ya'?"

A dog came out the front door, but she was certainly not the Tramp. No, she was a Cocker Spaniel, clearly purebred, with long, golden-brown fur and darker fluffy ears. Being a house dog, she wore a blue collar. Buster instantly knew this had to be Lady.

He had only seen her in past times very briefly, very fleetingly, most recently back at that Fourth of July picnic he'd sabotaged… but that had all been from a distance. He'd never really _seen _her… not like this.

Buster gazed at her in awe… _She. Is. Beautiful. _


	7. Buster's Trouble

Chapter Seven

"Can I help you?" the beautiful Cocker Spaniel asked the question very politely, but she seemed to remain wary of him.

"Uhh… I, uh… daa…"

Buster could say nothing except for some kind of incoherent mumbling. It would seem he had suddenly lost the ability to form complete words upon laying eyes on the most beautiful dog in the whole world.

"Ehh… um… ahh…"

"Pardon?" Lady had no idea why this strange Doberman had seemingly been struck dumb, but if it were some kind of practical joke, she would have no patience for it.

"Ahh… err… you… I, uh…"

"I believe you had called out _Tramp_'s name? Were you looking for him?" she asked. Buster thought she seemed rather vexed as she said the Tramp's name.

"I.. uhh… yeah! Yeah, tha'- tha' Tramp!" Buster managed to get out, "I was… um… lookin' for him."

Yes, he remembered now. He had limped all the way up to Snob Hill to find his old "friend." What Buster didn't know was why he had come looking for that dumb mutt in the first place… when he _should_ have come for this lovely lady instead.

"Well, I'm sorry, but Tramp is… not present at the moment," Lady said curtly, once again sounding miffed as she gave her mate's name.

Temporarily regaining use of his brain, Buster realized how odd that was. Wasn't Lady supposed to so in love with the Tramp, and the Tramp so in love with Lady, that he'd given up being a street dog just to be with her?

So why did she sound so irritated whenever she said his name?

"Well… uh… that's- that's okay," Buster sputtered out. What did the Tramp matter anyways, now that he had this beautiful dog before him?

"I'm sorry, but who exactly are you?" Lady walked down the porch steps and, very hesitantly, drew near him in the front yard, "What's your name?"

What _was _his name? He just couldn't seem to remember it all of a sudden. All his brain registered was that Lady had walked a little, just a little bit, closer to him.

"B- Buster!" he nervously barked when he finally remembered. His heart was beating so fast and so loudly that he thought surely she could hear it, surely it was about to burst from his chest.

"_Buster_?" Lady repeated, but her eyes narrowed and she backed away from the Doberman mutt, "Wait a minute! Aren't _you _the one who caused so much trouble for my Scamp this past Fourth of July? Oh, Tramp's told me all about you and your Junkyard Dogs! And Scamp said you even made him wind up in the pound!"

"N- No! I mean, well, _yes_, but - no! I didn't - okay, so I _did_ - but I shouldn't have- " he hastily tried to explain and apologize all at once, mixing all the words up. His brain was completely scattered under her angry glare.

Buster quickly moved forward towards as she backed off, but he moved too rapidly, too suddenly, and the searing pain returned to his injured leg. Unable to stand on it, Buster collapsed and gave a loud cry of pain.

Lady's anger immediately vanished, replaced by pure concern for the wounded dog before her, "Oh, goodness! Are you alright? What hurts?"

She ran up beside the fallen dog. He was humiliated to be seen by her like this, weak and hurt, but the pain was so bad that he just moaned, "It's… my _leg_. I fell on it earlier and - _Aaagh_!"

He shrieked in agony again when he tried to stand up off the ground, not wanting to lie helpless before her, but Buster just fell right back down. The intense pain was too much.

"Don't move!" Lady fretted over him, "Oh, you poor thing! What have you done to make it hurt like this?"

"Well… I, uh… I fell in my junkyard… an' then walked from there ta' here…"

"You walked all the way here from the town junkyard? On an _injured leg_? Well, of course it hurts so badly!" she scolded him, but the concern couldn't stay out of her voice for long, "Oh, you should've _rested _your leg, not strained it even more!"

"Yeah, I get that _now_," Buster grumbled, still feeling very embarrassed at appearing so pathetic before such a lovely dog.

But if Lady thought any less of him for being hurt, she certainly didn't show it. Instead, she was fussing over him like he was the only thing in the world that mattered - at least, that's what Buster liked to think she thought.

"You'll have to rest for a few days, and after that… Well, I suppose you'll be alright. You _can _at least walk on it, can't you?"

"Clearly," Buster snorted, rolling his eyes at the question, "I just told ya' I walked here from tha' junkyard."

"Don't you get an attitude with me!" Lady snapped at him, "You're lucky I'm even helping you like this after all the trouble you've caused for Tramp and Scamp!"

"Whoa, whoa, okay! Sorry! I get it!" Buster quickly apologized, "I'm- I'm sorry. I'm very glad ya' helpin' me like this. An' I'm… I'm sorry for all tha' trouble I've caused ya'."

"Apologize to Tramp and Scamp, not me," Lady sniffed disdainfully.

The big Doberman didn't exactly feel very sorry for the "trouble" he'd caused the Tramp - after all, the Tramp deserved it after he'd deserted him - but Buster figured an apology, albeit a false one, was the best way to get on Lady's good side.

"I… uh… I _would_ apologize to tra' Tramp, but ya' said he ain't even here," he lied about the apology, but he was genuinely curious about the Tramp's whereabouts, "Where is he, anyways?"

"That's none of your business."

"Okay, okay! Sorry! I was just - Wait…" he paused, starting to string two and two together, "Wait… he didn't _leave ya'_, did he? Is that why ya' sound so mad at- "

" -He did _not _leave me!" Lady barked at him, but her expression quickly went from angered to worried, "He… He _did _leave, but he said he would return. It's just that… I don't know if… Oh, why am I telling _you _this? You don't care."

"I do! I _do _care!" Buster woofed at once, "Ya' can tell me whatever's botherin' ya'! C'mon, talk ta' me!"

Angry though she was, Lady couldn't help but smile a little at him. She sighed, then began to talk, "Okay, well… this very morning, Tramp came back from being out all night long, and he said that Scamp had run away from home again in pursuit of Angel, who had left all of a sudden last night. Tramp then left to go after Scamp and he said he would return, but… I just don't know. I don't know what's happening to my family."

"Ah, man, that's, uh… that's rough," Buster tried to offer some sort of consolation, but he really didn't know what to say. However, he did still wonder why exactly Lady sounded so angry with the Tramp if he'd only left to bring back Scamp.

"I don't mean to trouble you with all this… I know you're at ends with Tramp and couldn't possibly be concerned for him," Lady sighed sadly.

"I am! I'm concerned for _you_ - err, your son," Buster stopped himself mid-sentence, "Yeah, uh… Scamp. I'm concerned that he ran away. I don't want tha' little guy putting himself in danger."

"Oh, that's so sweet of you! I didn't know you cared!" Lady smiled warmly at him, and Buster thought for sure his heart would burst then and there.

"Well, y'know… I, uh…"

But Lady suddenly gasped when she spotted Jim Dear walking her three daughters up the sidewalk, about to enter the front yard where she was with Buster.

"Quick, _hide_!" Lady urged him. Buster saw the approaching man and, despite the pain in his leg, managed to hobble over to the doghouse and hide himself inside before he was spotted.

"Hello, girl!" Jim Dear greeted Lady as he let Annette, Colette, and Danielle off their leashes, "Any sign of Tramp, Scamp, or Angel?"

Lady whimpered sadly.

"Well… we'll give them a little bit longer. Tramp's gone out with Scamp for a good while before… they'll all probably come back soon," Jim Dear reasoned, but there was a note of worry in his voice. The man shook his head, then walked up the porch and entered his house while the three girls ran over to their mother.

"Momma! Is Scamp back yet?"

"What about Angel? And Dad?"

"Hush, hush," Lady quieted her daughters down, "Dad was back earlier this morning, but… he left to find your brother and bring him home. Don't worry."

"Momma, who's that big, ugly dog over there?"

"Danielle, that's rude!" Lady scolded her excitable, goofy daughter, then glanced over her shoulder at Buster, "I'm so sorry about them, Buster."

"Eh, it's whatever," he shrugged, but felt a little awkward and very trapped in the doghouse as three curious puppies crowded around him at the entrance.

"What are you doing in _our _yard?" the blue-collared Annette sniffed disdainfully.

"Why do you smell? And why is your fur so dirty?" the red-collared Colette scoffed at him.

"Will you be my friend?' the white-collared Danielle woofed happily.

"Girls, girls! Leave him alone! Buster is going to stay here with us until his leg feels better, that's all," their mother ushered them away Buster, for which he was very thankful. Lady then looked back at him, "I'm so sorry you had to get up and walk over here on your poor leg. I just think it's better if you hide from my owners inside the doghouse."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm a big, scary-lookin' Doberman with no collar, I'm sure ya' owners wouldn't want _me _around."

Much to his surprise, she actually laughed a little at that, "You know, you're not quite as scary as one might think."

"Well, that ain't sayin' much what with my leg like it is."

She laughed again, and to Buster's ears it was the best sound in the whole world. This beautiful, beautiful girl had been so sullen, so upset when he'd run into her, and now he'd made her laugh and smile.

Maybe there was some hope after all.

"Well, you just stay put in here until your leg heals. I'll bring you food and water whenever you need it," Lady instructed him, "And don't you dare move! Just rest, alright?"

"Alright," he grinned. She left him and went back inside her house; when she had gone, a huge smile spread across Buster's face.

She was so beautiful! And she had actually been nice to him! _Him_! The way she made such a fuss over him like that, Buster reasoned, she had to have some feelings for him like he did for her.

She just had to.


	8. Liar, Liar

Chapter Eight

Buster awoke the next morning with a big yawn, a stretch of his legs, and - _BAM! _He'd hit his head on the ceiling of his doghouse he realized he was still inside.

"Oww…" Buster grumbled, his head now throbbing. _An' now I remember why I hate sleepin' in doghouses. Yet another downside of life as a house pet._

In addition to his head aching, he found that his injured left back leg still pained him. However, the pain was not nearly as bad as it had been all of the day before, and Buster was very glad for that.

The Doberman mutt's stomach rumbled, and he hoped Lady would bring him some breakfast before too long. And fortunately for him, it wasn't long at all before Lady was walking over to the doghouse with a bowl of dog food.

"Bea-_uuu_-tiful," he grinned at her as she came up and set the food bowl down in front of him.

Lady laughed at that, "Are you really that fond of food?"

"Oh, I guess tha' food is nice, too," he said, but the words didn't come out very coherently through his mouthful of food.

"You shouldn't talk with food in your mouth. It's not polite."

"Sorry, I guess I'm not a very polite puppy," he laughed, then gave a very loud belch.

"Uggh… Impolite _and _disgusting."

"Hey! That's goin' too far!"

She laughed again, adding all the more to his good mood. However, it looked as if Lady didn't share in his good spirits. She was smiling, but her eyes were bleak and tear-stained.

"Hey, uh, you alright? Ya' lookin' a little down," Buster asked. For one of the few times in his life, the dog was concerned for someone besides himself, "Ya' have a bad night?"

"I… Yeah. Bad night," Lady sighed, "It was… the second night in a row I slept alone… without Tramp. And I was just… a little sad."

"A little?"

"Well… more than a little sad. I… I don't know exactly why he left, and I- I don't know what to think anymore… of him," Lady admitted, a single tear trickling down her fur.

"But… didn't ya' say yesterday that tha' Tramp only left ta' bring Scamp back home?"

"That's what he _said_…" Lady sighed, then took in a deep breath. A few more tears ran down her face, she sighed again, and slowly began, "Oh, Buster… I'm so glad I can talk to you like this about it all, and I haven't told anyone else this, but… I think… I think Tramp may be seeing another girl. I'm- I'm afraid he's fallen back to his old ways."

"Why do ya' think that? Have ya' seen him with a girl?'

"Well, I- I don't know for sure… The day before yesterday an old friend of his named Peg came here. You see, she's Angel's mother- "

" -Really? Huh… I can see that."

"So Peg wanted Angel to leave with her, which she later did, and then Scamp went after Angel. But earlier that night, Tramp had been with Peg. I know because I could _smell_ her on him the next morning," Lady said with disgust, "Tramp said he and Peg only talked, but… I don't think I believe him."

"Eh, Peg an' the Tramp _do _have quite a history together…" Buster remembered, "She was one of his favorite girlfriends back in tha' day."

This caused Lady to burst into tears. Through her sobs, she cried out, "Oh, then it's- it's _true_! He didn't go to bring Scamp back! He's left with P- Peg! And if Scamp's gone with them, I'll- I'll never see my son again! _Oh_!"

She sobbed and sobbed, and Buster, fighting back the pain in his leg to stand up and out of the doghouse, wrapped a comforting paw around her.

"Hey, hey… it's okay. It's gonna be okay. Ya' not gonna' let him ruin your life, are ya'?" Buster tried to cheer her up, but it did little good.

Lady sniffed back the last of her tears, then took another deep breath and quietly asked, "Buster… I know you don't like him anymore, but you knew Tramp better than anyone for a long time. Do you… Do you really, truly believe that Tramp would go back to his old life, or do you think this is all a misunderstanding and he really does love me?"

Buster's heart stopped when he heard the question. Did he think the Tramp would really leave her?

No. No, he wouldn't. The Tramp had been the street dog of street dogs, the most womanizing mutt you'd ever meet. He had been so famously fond of the ladies that Buster knew - no matter how much he hated to admit it - that if his old "friend" had given up _everything _to be with a girl, that girl had to be the one.

No matter how badly Lady's story sounded for the Tramp, Buster just didn't believe he would ever leave her. The Tramp would have never ditched him unless he really, truly loved Lady.

"…I'm afraid he _would _go back ta' his old ways. I know tha' truth hurts, but girls were always tha' Tramp's one an' only weakness. An' Peg was always his favorite girl."

Lady nodded, fighting back more tears, "…Thank you for telling me. It means a lot."

"D- Don't mention it," Buster gulped nervously. He took a deep breath himself, then said solemnly, "…I'm real sorry, Lady."

She sniffed, then - unbelievably - smiled up at him, "You actually called me Lady. I've just heard Tramp call me _Pidge _for so long… It's rather nice to hear my actual name for a change."

"Then Lady you are," Buster grinned.

Perhaps his lie had been for the best. If Lady believed that the Tramp had really abandoned her, then maybe she could forget him… and maybe fall for another big, handsome dog.

Suddenly, two voices called out from the front of the yard.

"Lassie! Are ya home, lass?'

"Oh, Miss Lady!"

Lady perked up at her friends' voices, "Jock! Trusty! I'm in the backyard!"

Two males dogs came around the side of the house, a tiny little Scottish terrier with bristly black fur and a large old brown Bloodhound. The black terrier almost jumped at the sight of an enormous Doberman Pinscher, and he quickly trotted over to Lady's side, "Lassie! Who be _this _big lad?"

"I'm a friend, short-stuff."

"Are ya' now?" Jock eyed him suspiciously.

"Is this here fellar' bothering you, little lady?" Trusty the Bloodhound asked her, sounding very protective.

"Jock, Trusty, it's quite alright. Buster here is my friend," Lady reassured the two.

"Yo'," Buster growled.

"_Ooh_! Lass, I'm not sure I be a-likin' tha' looks of 'em!" the Scotsman yipped.

"Oh, I know Buster may look like a tough, dangerous dog on the outside," Lady told the angry little terrier, "But he's really a big sweetheart!"

"Ya' hear that, Scotty an' Grandpa? I'm a _sweetheart_," Buster grinned at them, taking extra care to show off his very large, very sharp teeth.

"Jock and Trusty are my friends too," Lady turned to him next. Behind her back, Jock stuck his tongue out at Buster.

"Have Tramp and Scamp still not come home, little miss?" Trusty asked her.

"No… and I'm afraid they never will," she explained sadly, "You see, Angel went away with her mom, Peg, and then Scamp and Tramp left with them as well. Peg is one of Tramp's past girls, and he… well…"

"Aah, lassie, I cannot be believin' that! Tramp would _nevar' _leave ya'! Nevar'!"

"But Buster here knows him best, and he believes Tramp _would_," Lady sighed, "I suppose I should have known he couldn't really give up his old life."

"Then it's a sad day for us all, Miss Lady," Trusty hung his head sadly.

"How do we _know _he be a-tellin' tha' truth, eh?" Jock asked, once again eying Buster suspiciously.

"Well, of course he is!" Lady defended him at once. Buster's heart didn't know whether to soar or sink.

"What are you even doing here, huh?" Trusty asked him, the Bloodhound sounding unusually mean.

"I hurt my leg an' I'm restin' up here, Gramps. That's all," Buster sneered.

"Now listen here, you _young'n_!"

"Trusty! And you, Jock! Stop giving poor Buster such a hard time! He's been a great friend to me, and I don't appreciate the way you're treating him," Lady quite suddenly stood up to the terrier and Bloodhound, much to their surprise.

"But lassie, he- "

"Enough, Jock," she silenced him, "I'll see you two later. Goodbye."

Their ears drooping, Jock and Trusty slowly turned and left the backyard. Before he left, Jock shot Buster one last angry glare, but Buster simply grinned in amusement.

"I'm sorry about all that, Buster. I don't know what their problem was with you."

"Probably just that you're hangin' with a strong, attractive guy like me instead of them."

"I'm _sure _that's it," Lady laughed and rolled her eyes at him.

Now Buster's mind was made up: he was _definitely _glad he'd lied about the Tramp. She'd get over his "old buddy" and would fall in love with another guy, a better guy… Someone who'd been there to listen to her problems and worries. Someone who'd been there to comfort her.

* * *

He'd run as far as he could, as fast as he could, for as long as he could all of yesterday and all of last night, but it wasn't enough. Although he might have gotten far, Scamp was younger, faster, and had surely gotten farther.

_How am I supposed to find him? It's hopeless_, Tramp grieved. He'd lost his runaway son's trail a while back, and there was no way, just no way he could find him now.

_No! There _has _to be a way! _he desperately hoped, racking his brain for some way to find out where in the whole town Scamp had gone to.

But Tramp could think of nothing. Defeated, he slumped to the ground of what seemed like the hundredth alley he'd run through in his search. Mud and water splashed onto his ragged fur as he lay there, the ground cold beneath him.

"There must be some way…" Tramp croaked, worn and weary, his mind and body exhausted, "Some place I haven't gone yet… Something I haven't thought of yet…"

And then he got an idea.

Scamp had run off after Angel and Peg, who were leaving town. Instead of trying to think of where his wayward son was, maybe Tramp could think of where Angel and Peg would be heading - if he found them, he found Scamp.

"Peggy said she wanted to get out of this town… so what's the best way to do that?" Tramp wondered, "How would _I _leave town as quickly as possible?"

Suddenly, he knew.

"That's it! The quickest way to leave town! That _must_ be where Peggy's gone!" Tramp cried out in triumph. If he wanted to get out of town and go as far away as possible, there was only one place he would go.

"They've gone to the train yard! I've got to hurry!"


	9. Catch the Train

Chapter Nine

"That was the best night's sleep I've had in days, Mom!" Angel yawned as her mother gently prodded her awake. She stretched her legs out, relieved to wake with the familiar dirt and gravel of the town's streets beneath her paws. Angel realized she had a peace of mind that she'd lacked for a good while, "Y'know, Momma, I'm glad I'm leaving with you. I really am."

"Well, I'm glad, sweetheart," Peg laughed, but for some reason her daughter's apparent happiness seemed to trouble her. The mutt eyed her young daughter with worry, "Baby… are ya' _sure _ya' not just fooling yourself? Ya' really do wanna' leave?"

"Of course, Mom! Come on, all you've been asking me is if I'm really, _really _sure!" Angel groaned, "And I keep telling you that I _am_! I am sure."

"Alright, sweetie," Peg sighed, but perked back up, "Well then, you and I have a train to catch."

"A train?"

"Yep. That's my plan to get us outta' town," her mom grinned, then led Angel further on down the street, across an alley, and around the other side of the big wooden ticket office, and there it was. The town train yard.

Angel gazed at everything before her eyes. Black puffs of smoke chugged and chugged into the air from the exhaust pipe atop a giant steel-rimmed train that was slowing to a stop in the yard. Train tracks ran everywhere along the ground, and a platform stood for people to board their Twelve O'clock. Several rusty locomotives stood parked on the rails all over the yard.

"That cargo train over there will be leaving any minute now," Peg nodded over to a large train, several carts long and carrying loads of boxes, barrels, and other cargo. It was positioned ahead of the other trains, ready to depart very soon.

"And that's the one we'll be getting on to leave this town once and for all?"

"That's right," Peg smiled, "But only if you're- "

" -I know, Mom. I _am _sure."

"Then it's time to board," her mother grinned, rubbing her head against her daughter's affectionately.

Peg led Angel over to one of the train's open cargo compartments; it was a high jump up to the ledge and into the compartment, but Angel figured she could get up and into it if she could leap onto the train's lower steel railings.

"After you, Mother dear," Angel gave Peg a comical bow, then giggled, "Here, you can use me as a stool to get up into the cart."

"Thanks, baby," her mother smiled, for she knew she was older and couldn't make the jump as easily as Angel could. With a quick leap onto her daughter's back, Peg sprung up to the compartment's low railings, then got herself up into the cart's interior.

"C'mon, now you," Peg called down to Angel right as the cargo train's whistle hissed and bellowed. The train was fixing to leave.

But Angel looked almost apprehensive, even wistful as she looked up at the train. Her frantic mother called out, "Baby! Jump on before we leave!"

"Yeah… sorry. I just remembered a bad run-in Scamp and I had with a train once. Almost ran the two of us over," Angel sighed, sounding awfully nostalgic.

Peg shook her head sadly, "…I knew leaving with ya' was a bad idea. I can't take ya' away from here - from Scamp. It's not right."

"No, Momma! It _is _right! I'm moving on with my life, right here, right now. I'll miss Scamp a lot, but now that's all over."

But just as Angel was about to leap off the ground and onto the train compartment-

"_Angel_!"

"What? Scamp?" Angel gasped incredulously as she saw him running from the far side of the train yard. The train whistle began bellowing again, the steel wheels began turning, and the locomotive began chugging forward.

"Angel! Jump up! Quickly!" Peg barked down desperately.

"Angel! Angel, _please_!" Scamp called out as he ran across the yard, "Please stay!"

But Scamp was too far away from the cargo train; Angel looked back at him one last time, then ran forward and jumped up. She landed on the low railings as planned, then pulled herself into the compartment with her mother. Angel stuck her head out to cast Scamp one last, sad farewell as their train steamed ahead.

"_NO_! I - Won't - Lose- You!" Scamp barked at the top of his small lungs. He bolted forward, running as fast as he could, racing faster than he ever had in his life to catch the train chugging away far ahead of him.

"Tenderfoot! You can't make it!" Angel shouted over the speed they were picking up.

"_I_ _-_ _WILL!_" he shouted to her, tears flying off his face as he ran against the wind, "_FOR - YOU!_"

Scamp had been running all over town endlessly through the night, and he'd had no rest, no sleep whatsoever. He knew he couldn't have wasted any time sleeping - he'd searched and searched to sniff down Angel's trail, and it had led him to the train yard.

He wasn't about to lose her now.

"Scamp! Don't!" Angel cried out, her eyes now tearing up, "Don't do this for me!"

"_I - HAVE - TO!_" he barked, panting and panting as he raced to catch up with the speeding train. Scamp ran and ran, the train yard becoming a bur, the blur turning into an open field outside the town. He barely noticed dirt and gravel becoming dirt and grass as they left their little town behind them - his paws practically weren't touching the ground as it was.

"_SCAMP!_" Angel shrieked as she realized what he was going to attempt.

"Kid, don't try! You'll never make it!" Peg cried out. But Scamp ignored their warnings, racing and running ahead of them above in their cart. His tears for Angel became tears of fierce determination as Scamp somehow picked up the pace even more, running and racing faster than the train itself was moving. He shouted up at her, "_I - HAVE - TO - PROVE - THAT -_ "

"_SCAMP! DON'T JUMP!_"Angel cried out in terror. She knew that if he jumped, trying to land in the open compartment with them, he would miss and hit the speeding, grinding train wheels below, and-

And he jumped.

Angel's heart froze as she watched Scamp fly through the air, dead sure that he would fail and hit the merciless wheels. Everything seemed to slow down as he leapt up, nothing else mattering to her but that he make the jump - not leaving the town, not finding a home, not even being with her mother. All she wanted was for him to make it.

And he did.

"_S- Scamp_!" Angel cried and cried as he lay on the wooden floor of the cargo compartment, his breathing coming fast and heavy.

"Did… Did I make it?" Scamp wearily asked.

"Yes, you idiot! You made it!" Angel barked through her tears. She immediately threw herself down on the floor beside him, "Oh, Scamp! Never do that again!"

"Wasn't… planning… on it, actually…" he managed to grin.

"Tenderfoot, you could've been - you could have - " she barked at him, "Oh, why? Why did you have to do it? What did you have to prove?"

"I had… to prove that… it's more than puppy love."

Angel gave up trying to hold back her tears any longer. They fell down her face as she sobbed and sobbed over him and what he had done. After what she had done to him, what she had put him through, he had gone and done this crazy, stupid thing for her.

"Oh, Scamp… It _is_. It is more than puppy love," Angel cried, holding him close as though he might slip away and get thrown out of their train at any moment.

Scamp beamed up at her, then promptly passed out from his exhaustion and overwhelming lack of sleep. Angel sniffed back a few final tears, still lying beside him like nothing else mattered. Her mother slowly came up and gently nudged her.

"C'mon, baby… let him sleep. The poor guy's exhausted."

Her daughter nodded, then reluctantly moved away from him. She watched Scamp with worry as he lay barely breathing on the wooden floor, but gave a huge sigh of relief when he started snoring.

"Momma… you were right. I _was _fooling myself by thinking I wanted to leave him," Angel gazed at Scamp, finally sleeping soundly - and loudly - before them, "But I _can't_. I can't leave him."

"I understand, honey," Peg smiled warmly, "Does this mean ya' wanna' return to his town?"

"I… I don't know anymore. This train is moving pretty fast… and we're already so far away from the town.'

"We are," Peg agreed, "But we can always jump off when the train stops at the next town. I bet we can find a train heading back."

But Angel honestly couldn't say whether or not she wanted to go back. Right now, all she knew was that she wanted Scamp beside her, now and forever.

"Right now, Momma, we're riding this train. I don't know where we're going, but we're going. You, me… and Scamp."

* * *

Tramp ran and ran until he finally came to the town train yard. His legs ached from exhaustion and age both, but as long as he found his son, the pain didn't matter.

"Scamp! Scamp, are you here?" Tramp barked, looking around the train yard for a feisty little puppy with shaggy gray fur who looked nothing like his mother and everything like his father, "Whirlwind!"

But no feisty little puppy answered his calls.

_Was my hunch wrong? Maybe Peggy wasn't going here after all_, Tramp speculated, but suddenly his nose caught Scamp's scent.

"He _was_ here…" the mutt quickly began following Scamp's trail, doing a double-take when he saw some tiny paw prints in the dust and dirt on the ground, "Scamp! Whirlwind, where are you? Whirlwind!"

The dog broke into a run as he followed his son's scent into the heart of the train yard, and then he picked up the smell of Peg and Angel as well. Sure enough, there were two more sets of paw prints in the dirt ahead of Scamp's prints.

And they all disappeared at the edge of the train tracks.

"Oh, no… No, no, no! They've already left on a train!" Tramp realized, horror spreading over his face. Yes, he could tell it all by the scents he smelled and the paw prints he saw. Peg and Angel had to have boarded first, for their prints vanished first. Scamp's prints and scent led further on down the track, which meant he had chased after the train and must've jumped on as well.

They were really gone. Scamp was gone.

"I've failed…" he sunk to the ground in despair, "You're gone forever, Whirlwind. If I just hadn't been so slow! If I'd gotten here before you did, I- I could've- "

He shut his eyes tightly, his heart beat racing wildly as he drowned in the grief of his utter failure. He'd _promised _Lady that he would bring their runaway son back home, and he hadn't. By now, the speeding train was miles away from him and their town, taking his son away for good.

He'd failed everyone. He'd failed his beloved Lady, he'd failed his young son, and he'd failed their troubled family.

Tramp opened his eyes and happened to spot an old overturned barrel on the other side of the tracks across the train yard. _His_ old barrel, the one he'd slept in when he had been a street dog… _THE_ Tramp, not just Tramp.

_The Tramp would have never let his son run away from him, and the Tramp would've been able to track him down in an instant even if he did_, the mutt grieved as he stared longingly at the old wooden barrel. _Maybe things were better for me as a street dog after all…_

But he shook those thoughts out of his head. Right now, he couldn't bear to think like that.

Right now, he had to return home and tell Lady that he'd failed.


	10. Family Troubles

Chapter Ten

Tramp stumbled through the grim streets of their quaint, happy little town, murky puddle water splashing him and gravel stinging his sore paws. The mutt's fur was dank and dirty, mud making him look more brown than gray. If it weren't for the red collar and tag around his neck, no one could've guessed he was a house dog.

His whole body ached - his legs more than anything else - because Tramp had been running and running all of yesterday, all of last night, and all of that morning to find his runaway son before he left on a train.

And he had failed.

Tramp sighed miserably, making his way through the town and back to Snob Hill to return to the Darlings' home. He would have to admit to Lady that he hadn't arrived soon enough to stop their son from leaving.

The dog barely took notice of that bumbling dogcatcher driving towards him in his dinky vehicle, ready to throw him in the pound. While he knew that he wore a collar and would just be picked up by the Darlings, Tramp had no intention of being inconvenienced so. He darted into an alley, ran through another, and lost the dogcatcher in the blink of an eye.

"See that, Whirlwind? I still got it," Tramp whispered. Of course, he would likely never see his Whirlwind again.

Before too long he was back in the rich uptown known as Snob Hill. As he was heading up the sidewalk that led to the Darlings' house, two dogs he knew very well came up to greet him.

"Jock. Trusty," he nodded.

"Laddie! Wherever' 'ave ya' been?" Jock yipped, then lowered his voice, "Tramp, I… I know it canna' be true, but Lady… the lass has it in her mind that ya' gone an' a'left her for another girl!"

"_What_?" Tramp barked, very startled by the news, "She can't - I mean, I know she said something to me yesterday like that, but she- she can't seriously think that I- that I would- "

"Well, she does, sonny," Trusty bowed his head sadly, "Tramp, I don't know why the little lady thinks it, but Jock and I both know you would _never _do a thing like that."

"No, I wouldn't. Not anymore, anyways," he admitted, but Jock and Trusty both knew what their good friend meant. Tramp sighed, "Y'see, I talked with an old friend of mine named Peg. I used to be pretty… involved with Peg, and now Lady thinks that I've gone back to her."

"Aye, an' ya' _haven't_," Jock nodded his head, "We believe ya', laddie."

Tramp thanked the little black Scottie and the old brown Bloodhound for their support. With another mournful sigh, Tramp told them all that had happened with Peg and Angel and Scamp.

"…and then I finally found his scent and paw prints at the train yard, but I was too late. Scamp had already gotten on a train with Peg and Angel," he finished the tale, looking up at the son in the sky, "That was early this afternoon, and now it's going on evening… Scamp is long gone by now."

"Lad, I... I be so sorry for ya'. Truly, I am," Jock bowed his head woefully, "We all a'loved the wee pup."

"Maybe he'll be alright. You said Scamp was with Peg and Miss Angel, and I bet they'll keep him safe and sound," Trusty tried to be encouraging. Tramp smiled a little at his effort, but it did little to lift his spirits.

"Well, friends, I need to go talk with Pidge," he told the two sadly, "If she is mad at me... If she really does believe I left her for Peg, I need to sort out the matter with her."

"Would ya' wish for us ta' accompany ya', laddie?"

"No, but thanks anyways. See ya', guys."

"Buddy, before you go... you should know something," Trusty called out to his friend when he had turned to leave, "Little miss Lady has made a... new friend. This dog hurt his leg or something, and now he's staying in that doghouse in your yard. Jock and I particularly don't like the fella', but Miss Lady sure does."

"Is this guy trouble?"

"Well, I don't know, sonny. Now, I don't like to be in the habit of thinking bad of dogs before I get to know them, but… I just don't like this fellar. He's a big young Doberman, mixed I think, with a bad attitude. No collar."

_Is it just me, or does that sound an awful lot like… _Tramp pondered, but he doubted it was the dog he was thinking of.

"I'll see to him. Maybe this guy just gave you a bad first impression," Tramp tried to be optimistic about his Pidge's new friend.

"Laddie, I hope so."

"Thanks again, guys," he bowed his head to them, then Tramp took off up the sidewalk. He didn't know what to think of Lady and her new "close friend," but he knew exactly what he didn't want to think.

Then again, Tramp knew it wasn't fair to be suspicious of Lady when he didn't know for sure what was going on, no matter how much it hurt that Lady was doing that same thing to him.

The Schnauzer mutt finally arrived at the home of Jim Dear, Darling, and - more than anything - his mate and pups. Tramp considered going in the house and greeting Jim Dear, but he knew he had to find Lady. Smelling her scent in the back of the yard, Tramp ran around the house and - to his surprise - smelled another, vaguely familiar scent.

"Pidge! There you are!" he woofed when he saw her over by the doghouse, but then stopped short when he spotted the Doberman she was with.

"_Buster_?"

"Tramp!" Lady barked when she saw him approach, "I can't believe you came back! Shouldn't you be with _Peggy_? And where's Scamp? Where is he?"

"Whoa, whoa, Pidge! Please, calm down!" he begged, but he had a few questions himself, "Do you want to tell me what's going on? Why is Buster here?"

"He's here because- "

" -because he's being a good friend ta' Lady here, who's been in need of a good friend ever since ya' ditched her…" Buster intervened, baring his fangs, "…old buddy."

"I was going to say that he's here because he sprained his hind leg and needs to rest until it's fully healed," Lady glared up at Tramp, "But actually, Buster's right too."

"Pidge! You know Buster's just a- "

"Don't you _Pidge _me!" she barked, "And I'll have you know that Buster's been very kind to me! He's someone I can talk to and tell how I'm feeling! He comforts me when I'm upset!"

"Oh, like now?"

"Hey, leave her alone, will ya'?" Buster barked angrily at him, "Don't get mad 'cause _you _never been there for her!"

"Of course I have! But that's - Look, Pidge, this isn't important right now!" Tramp desperately tired to explain, taking a deep breath, "Pidge… Scamp is gone. He's left town on a train with Angel and Peg. I was trying to get to the train yard before he left, but I was too late. I'm so sorry."

"S- Scamp is… _gone_? Just gone?" Lady choked out, shock and disbelief in her watery eyes, "H- How could he have just left? Why couldn't you have brought him home like you promised?"

"I tried," his voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper, "Pidge, I… I really tried to. You've gotta' believe me."

She didn't answer him, didn't even meet his gaze, but instead turned to Buster, her lip quivering, "Oh, what are we going to do? S- Scamp may be g- gone forever!"

"Hey, hey, it's alright. Cry if ya' need to," the Doberman comforted in a voice so kind it made Tramp feel sick, "But ya' gotta' be strong, Lady. Ya' gotta' be strong for our Scamp."

At that, Buster wrapped a paw around her, and Tramp went livid, "Get your paws away from her! And don't you dare say Scamp is _yours_! We all know you don't care about him!"

"But he does! Buster cares about Scamp! He told me so himself," Lady instantly defended him.

"Pidge, why do you have to be so naive?" he barked in frustration, "He's just lying to get close to you!"

"Don't call me _Pidge_."

"Ya' don't gotta' listen to him, Lady. Tha' Tramp is nothing but a liar an' a traitor," Buster spat at him, "Looks like he's ditched ya' just like he ditched me! An' hey, he's even got that same old excuse! What was it ya' said? _I fell in love!_"

"That's right, Buster. I ditched you because I fell in love," Tramp was quiet, speaking to Buster but gazing tenderly at Lady. Her angry glare vanished for a moment, just a moment, and Buster was quick to notice.

"Y- Yeah, but now ya' ditching Lady here 'cause ya' fallen in love again, but this time it's with dear old Peg!"

"Isn't that right, Tramp? You're in love with _Peggy _now," Lady was back to an angry glare, "Are you going to get on a train and meet up with Peg in the next town? You, Peg, Scamp, and Angel will all be one big happy family, won't you?"

"I already have a big happy family with you. You know that."

"I thought I knew, but with you leaving me for _Peggy_, I… I don't know anymore."

"I've told you over and over! I am _not _with Peg!" Tramp barked, his own temper rising now, "But you know what _I _don't know? I don't know how you can stand to accuse me of being with Peg while _you've _been getting all snug with Buster!"

"Jealous, are we?" Buster sneered.

"What do you mean, all snug with Buster? You don't think I would - that I'd be with anyone but- " Lady was taken aback by Tramp's own accusation, "I'm not- I am _not _with Buster like you're with Peg! He's just been a very good friend to me, but I should've known you'd make something of it!"

"Well then, why don't I just go, huh? I don't see how I'm much needed anymore, now that you've got your _good friend_!" Tramp growled at the two of them.

"I think that's a great idea! Go on, leave us!" Buster laughed.

"Don't push it, Buster buddy. And don't ever forget you would've never been King of the Junkyard without me."

Buster bared his teeth again and growled at Tramp, but Lady stepped in front of him, "So is this it, Tramp? You'll just leave like you left me in that awful pound?"

He said nothing, just kept glaring at Lady and Buster, but then Tramp kicked his leg up to his red collar. He pushed it up and pulled his head out until the collar came off. Tramp picked it up and threw the collar at Buster.

"Here. You'll need this, seeing as you're a house doggie now."

"How dare ya'- "

" -I don't want to hear it, old buddy. And Lady," he paused for a moment, "…don't call me Tramp. I'm _THE _Tramp, got it?"

"T- Tramp, you can't- "

" -Do you even have any idea how much I gave up to be with you?" the mutt barked at her, "I used to have freedom and adventure out on the streets! I had friends I haven't seen in ages! I was the best street dog there ever was!"

"Then g- go, if you m- miss your old life that much! Just _go_!" Lady barked, but her eyes were teary.

The Tramp turned and walked away, footloose and collar-free once more. But before he left the yard, he looked back hoping that Lady would be running over to him, begging for him to stay with her.

It wasn't Lady, but Buster who was approaching. The Tramp growled at him, "What do you want now? Here to add insult to injury?"

"Buddy, before ya' go... ya' should know something" Buster sneered at him, dropping his voice to a menacing whisper, "Ya' pretty little Lady is lying to ya'."

"Doesn't surprise me. What's she lying about?" the Tramp spat out.

"Oh, about her an' me. About us _just_ being good friends. See, we're not so much good friends as we are… very, _very_ good friends… if ya' catch my drift."

"I don't believe you," he growled at him.

"Fine. Don't believe me. Doesn't change tha' fact that she loves me now instead of you," Buster grinned.

The Tramp ran away from him, running out of Jim Dear and Darling's yard and onto the streets. The mutt went through alleys, slid between houses, raced down sidewalks, lost himself in the maze of the town. As he ran and ran through the streets, Buster's words ran and ran through his head. _She loves me now instead of you._

Part of him didn't want to believe it, but part of him had an overwhelming suspicion that Buster spoke the truth. Would Lady really leave him for Buster? Maybe she would she if she thought that _he _had left her for Peg.

He thought and thought about this, but as he ran around the streets of the town, the Tramp gave up thinking. He didn't think of Lady, Scamp, or even his three daughters and the Darlings he'd also just left behind. Now that he was collar-free once more, the Tramp didn't want to think of anything at all.

"It's over…" he panted, flopping down in a dirty back alley, "It's all over…"

Back in the Darling's yard, Buster was once again comforting Lady.

"It's all over…" the Doberman soothed her, "That liar is gone now, an' I say good riddance."

Lady didn't respond. A little worried, Buster asked, "C'mon, Lady. Aren't ya' glad he's long gone?"

"I… I don't know," she whispered, her lip trembling, "I just don't know anymore."


	11. Times are Changing

Chapter Eleven

"Oh, Jim Dear, I am ever so worried about them…"

"I know you are, Darling. I am, too," Jim Dear sighed, taking another smoke of his pipe and sitting himself down in their rocking chair, "Tramp, Scamp, and Angel have all been gone for two whole days now.'"

His wife put away the woolen hat she was knitting for their little son, "Do you suppose all three of them are together out there?"

"I certainly hope they are," Jim Dear nodded, then put a hand up to his forehead, "I just can't think of where they might be! I've looked all over town, and I checked the pound yesterday and the day before. Not one of them is there."

An elderly woman with her gray hair up in a bun walked into the living room, holding Junior in her arms, "There, there, dears. I'm sure your dogs will all show back up before too long."

"Thank you, Aunt Sarah," Darling smiled, taking Junior from her aunt and sitting the child down in her lap, "I know you're really more of a cat person, though."

"Well, yes, but I feel simply awful seeing you look so down, dearie," Aunt Sarah patted her arm and sat down beside her niece. Her two Siamese cats came gliding over to her, meowing very lovingly and innocently.

"Why, if my Si and Am ever ran away, I would be simply distraught!" Aunt Sarah petted her two precious cats.

"Yes, I understand," Darling smiled, rocking her child back and forth gently, then looked up to see their Cocker Spaniel passing through the living room, "At least we still have Lady and the three girls with us."

"Lady! Lady!" Junior laughed, then looked up at his mother, "Scamp? Tramp? Angel?"

"They'll be back soon, sweetheart. I'm sure they will," Darling kissed her child's forehead.

Si and Am sneered down at Lady, but she knew by now not to let the two of them provoke her. Lady simply turned her nose up at the cats and trotted out the door and into the backyard.

"Shall we see what the little doggy is up to?" Si grinned.

"Yes, let's!" Am purred, "Let's see if we can cause any- "

"Trouble?"

"_Mischief_!"

The two Siamese cats waltzed into the kitchen and hopped up on the counter to look out at Lady from the window. She was approaching the doghouse in the backyard, and then-

"Ooh! Who is _that_?" Si cackled when a large Doberman came out from hiding in the doghouse.

"Someone who should not be there, I think! Shall we see what he's doing here?"

"Yes, let's!"

Back in the living room, Jim Dear had gotten up from the couch, excused himself from the room, and walked out to the front porch.

He took another puff of his pipe, then sighed to himself, "I hope you'll come back soon, Tramp. I don't know why you've gone, but I sure do miss you."

He sat down on the porch swing, gazing out to the town streets as though Tramp might come walking up the sidewalk any moment.

"Come back to us, old boy…" Jim Dear shook his head sadly and began swinging.

* * *

The Tramp yawned, stretching out his front legs and looking up at the clear morning sky, "Aah… What a day!"

But the mutt suddenly gasped in pain, his back and legs aching terribly, "Oww… I guess I'm not used to- Aah! …not sleeping on soft pillows…"

His old wooden barrel in the train yard wasn't nearly as comfortable to sleep in as he remembered it being - in fact, he didn't feel well-rested at all. Regardless, the Tramp was determined to reclaim his old life on the streets.

_I was once the greatest street dog there ever was… _he told himself firmly, _And I still am._

The Tramp's stomach growled, so he took off down the sidewalk in search of a bit to eat. He passed by a couple buildings, pondering where to eat his breakfast, "Let's see here… Francois? No, no, _way _too much starch as I remember. Maybe… Tony's?"

His mind immediately went to the night he had eaten spaghetti with Lady at Tony's. A candlelight dinner, music playing for them, and the stars shining down on their lovely _bella notte_…

"No. No, not Tony's," the Tramp decided, walking past his favorite restaurant without a second thought.

He continued down the town street, trying to think of a place to eat, "Hey… how about Bernie's? Yeah, I used to eat there all the time!"

The Tramp ran down the sidewalk to find the diner, but when he came to the spot he distinctly remembered Bernie's being… no diner was there.

"Uh… maybe they moved?" he looked up and down the street, but he saw the diner nowhere. A rustling from an alley behind him made the Tramp quickly turn around, bringing him face to face with his old buddy Bull.

"Blimey! If it ain't the Tramp!" Bull the English bulldog laughed in his distinct Cockney accent.

"Hiya, Bull! Long time no see!"

"Same ta' you, chum," Bull set down the bone he was chewing on, "Whatever are you doing on the streets without a collar? Last I heard you'd become a house pet."

"Well, the times are changing. I'm done being a house dog. But never mind that, I'm pretty hungry… Didn't Bernie's used to be right here?"

"Bernie's? Oh, that diner closed down months ago, old chum. They up and replaced it with that there clothing shop," the bulldog nodded to the shop that the Tramp had never seen before.

"Ah man, that's too bad," the Tramp sighed, and his stomach gave another loud rumble, "Uh… say, old pal… you wouldn't mind sharing your bone there with a hungry dog, would you?"

"Sorry, old friend, but it's every dog for himself out here. You should know that," Bull picked up his bone for fear the Tramp would try to snatch it up.

"Yeah… guess I forgot about that."

"Well, blimey, chum! Aren't you supposed to be the best street dog of them all?" the English bulldog laughed at him, "Surely you can dig up your own food!"

With that, Bull walked back into the alley, taking his bone with him. The Tramp sighed again, then took off down the sidewalk, again in search of food.

_Yep. Forgot how much I _love _life on the streets… I guess I can see why Peg wanted to skip town… _he thought as he wandered the town, finally finding some trashcans to dump over and eat out of. He managed to scavenge a few scraps of meat and a piece of stale bread.

What was it he'd told Angel? _"You don't need to dig around dirty alleys for food anymore."_

The Tramp sighed. Perhaps his days of being a street dog had not been quite as good as he'd always remembered them to be.

* * *

"…and that was the night that I… well, that I fell in love with Tramp," Lady finished her story.

"Wow… candles, music, spaghetti dinner an' everything. That traitor sure knew how ta' trick a pretty girl into falling for him, didn't he?" Buster scoffed.

"Yes, but… I really thought he and I had something _special_…" she sighed to him, "That night was always so important to me… and now…"

"Hey… lift your head up, beautiful!" Buster grinned; his eyes lit up when he spotted two Siamese cats sneaking around the yard, "I know how ta' have some fun, Lady! Let's get those cats over there!"

"Oh no, Buster! Those are- "

But she was too late. Buster had begun barking and chasing after Si and Am. The two cats hissed and darted back inside the house, but Buster keep barking loudly at them.

"Who's that barking?" Jim Dear came running down from the porch and into the backyard. He did a double-take when he saw a big, scary-looking Doberman with no collar in his yard.

"Hey! Get out of here! Go on! Get!" Jim Dear yelled at the dog.

"What on earth is going on out there?" Darling poked her head out of the kitchen window.

"Some big dog's in our yard!" Jim Dear explained to his wife, then resumed shooing off Buster, "Go on! Get away, you!"

Buster barked back at him, but took off running out of the Darlings' yard and down the street. Once making sure he was out of sight, Jim Dear walked back up the front porch and into his house.

"Oh, dear… I was afraid this would happen…" Lady sighed, but she then heard Buster calling her name from the other side of the backyard fence.

"Buster! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the Doberman assured her, "Hey, I was getting pretty tired of sleeping in that doghouse, anyways."

"Will you be alright out on the streets? How's your leg doing?"

"My leg feels great. Don't worry," Buster grinned, "Trust me, I'll be fine. But if you'd like… you an' I can head out around the town tonight. What do ya' say, beautiful?"

She smiled at him through the fence, "Alright, Buster. Tonight it is."


	12. Going Home

Chapter Twelve

"Angel, I'm sorry, but… I can't do that."

Scamp stood on the shaking wooden floor at the edge of their train compartment. The New English countryside was a blur of patchwork fields and trees that would soon change colors, all rushing by as the cargo train sped past. The view before him was beautiful, but Scamp spoke to Angel with a heavy heart.

"Why not, Tenderfoot?" she asked him, "We're already so far away from town anyways. Why won't you come away with us?"

"I would love to live freely out here with you, Angel. I really would," he explained with a sad sigh, "But I can't leave my family behind. I learned that when I ran away this past Fourth of July."

"Yeah, but… how would you even get back to town, anyways? This train's been going since yesterday morning."

"I don't know, but I _will _get back," Scamp insisted, determination in his eyes as he spoke to her, "And I want you to come back with me."

She was silent. Scamp was afraid that she would flat-out say no, but when Angel finally, hesitantly spoke, she said, "I… I want to be with you, Tenderfoot… but I don't think I want to return."

"Angel, please…"

"I'm sorry, Scamp, but I won't go back. Not when Mom and I have come this far already," she decided, glancing over at her mother. Peg was lying down in the corner of the train compartment, not wishing to interfere in their debate.

"Oh, Tenderfoot, why can't you just go with us? Haven't you always wanted fun and freedom, living life without a collar?"

"Of course I have. I want to fun free, and I want to be with you, too," he stared out at the bright countryside as they sped by, "…but I also want to be back with my family. And Angel, _you're _part of that family."

"I won't go back. I won't," she turned her back to Scamp.

"Fine then. Keep running away forever and see how far it gets you."

Scamp turned away from her, moving over to look out at the passing fields from the edge of the compartment, while Angel went to sit down with her mother. Peg looked up at her headstrong daughter, shook her head and sighed, then asked in a low whisper, "Baby, tell me… what do ya' want? What do ya' want more than anything?"

"Mom, I want to be with you- "

"No, no, honey. Not what _I _want. What do _you _want, deep down in ya' heart?"

Angel didn't say anything for a moment, turning her mother's question over and over in her head. Eventually, Angel quietly answered, "…I want a family… and a home. I want a home."

"That's right, baby. Ya' always have. So why won't ya' go back to town with Scamp? Ya' can be with his family."

"But Mom, that's _not _my home. I know it's not," Angel explained to her mother, and perhaps to herself as well, "I've had six different homes before, but none of them have been _my _home. I haven't found that yet."

"Ya' know… maybe ya' have."

Her daughter didn't understand for a moment, but when her mother gave her a knowing smile and nodded over to the third dog in the train with them, Angel knew.

She thought it all over in her head, and then quietly, hesitantly, slowly, Angel approached him, "…Scamp?'

He was still resolutely not looking at her, instead gazing out at the speeding, blurred fields of yellow, orange, and green as he said, "Angel… it's okay. Really, it is."

"Oh no, Tenderfoot- "

"No, listen… My mom and dad both tried to tell me that I… I can't tell you what to do. That I can't decide where you go," Scamp slowly explained, "I was too stubborn to listen, but they were right. I have no say in your life… And you want to go away with your mom. I get it. It's okay."

"S- Scamp…"

"Angel, I just want you to be happy. If leaving with your mom is what you really want, then that's fine," he smiled at her, his eyes sad but his mind made up, "I want to have you with me forever more than anything, but sometimes… sometimes we have to let go of what we can't have."

Angel was quiet, unable to stop her eyes from tearing up a bit, "A- Are you really going back to town then?"

Scamp nodded his head, "I have to. They're my family, and you're with yours."

He suddenly moved over to the edge of the train compartment, readying himself to jump off, and Angel's heart skipped a beat, "No! Don't leave, Scamp! I- I love you!"

"I love you too, Angel. That's why I have to let you go," he gave Angel and Peg a farewell smile, "Goodbye."

With that, Scamp leaped out of the open compartment and tumbled to the grassy field below. He rolled down a little, his head very dizzy, but Scamp eventually pulled together and got up to see the train chugging and chugging away.

The puppy smiled sadly as he watched it go, taking his Angel away forever. It broke his heart to tell her goodbye, but he knew it was the right thing to do. However, just as he had turned to start the long, long walk back to his town, he heard a voice call out him name from far off in the distance.

"Scamp! _Scamp_!"

His heart soared as he turned around to see Angel and Peg, a very long ways away; he barked happily as he bolted through the meadow to meet them.

"_Angel_! I don't believe it!" he laughed, racing up to her. The two young dogs both ran and ran until they ran right into each other.

"Tenderfoot! Don't you know you can't just go jumping off moving trains like that?"

"Oh, Angel! You're- You're here! You're _both _here!" he woofed to Angel and Peg, feeling the happiest he had ever felt in his life, "You're not leaving!"

"No, Scamp, we're not," she rubbed her head against his affectionately, "Y'see, Momma had asked me what I really wanted… and I told her it was a real home. That's what I've always wanted."

"So you'll let the Darlings be your home?"

"Not quite," Angel smiled tenderly, "I thought I hadn't found my home yet, but I had… I just didn't realize it."

She brushed her fur against him, licked his cheek lovingly. Angel knew she wanted nothing more than to be with him, forever and always.

"_You're _my home, Tenderfoot."

In that moment, Scamp knew that what he had told her the day before had been absolutely true: it _was _more than puppy love. Angel was so much more than a girl he had only known for about a month and a half. She was everything to him.

"Oh, Angel… I'll be with you wherever you go. I promise I will."

"I know, Tenderfoot. I know," she sighed happily, "And I'll return to town with you. I'll be happy there, I know I will."

"I'm glad. Mom, Dad, my sisters… they all love you, too."

"A- And the Darlings… they'll never kick me out? You promise?"

"They won't. I promise."

Angel and Scamp embraced each other in the grassy sunlit meadow for what seemed like an eternity. Peg had never been happier, seeing her beloved daughter finally at home, but Peg eventually spoke up when Angel and Scamp had moved apart, "Uh… I hate to ruin the moment, but how exactly are we gonna' get back to the town?'

"I guess we walk," Angel grinned.

"Actually, I think there's a road running along the other side of these tracks. Maybe a car will come," Scamp suggested. The three of them walked over the wooden train tracks, and sure enough, there was a long, empty dirt road.

Scamp, Angel, and Peg all began walking down the road that followed the tracks back to town, but before too long a car did indeed come driving up to them.

It was none other than their town's local bumbling dogcatcher in his dinky excuse for a vehicle.

"Aha! Three mangy little mutts, huh?" the dumb dogcatcher sneered when he saw them, "Ooh! And two of you aren't wearing a collar! Well, you three have got yourselves a one-way ticket to the pound!"

The man hopped out onto the road, then grabbed the three of them and threw them into the cage in the back of his car, a place Scamp was only too familiar with. The dogcatcher paused to think about his situation, "Hmm… the closest pound is way back in town, and that's a whole night's drive… Well, I have a duty to do! You dogs belong in the pound, so that's where you'll go! Ha ha!"

The dogcatcher jumped back in his car and took off driving down the dirt road, heading back to their town. In the cage, the three dogs all laughed at their good fortune.

"Now we don't have to walk! Oh, this is great!" Scamp grinned, "I'm so glad that you're returning with me."

"Well, you didn't think we'd let you go back all by yourself, did you?" Angel beamed at him, "But still, a whole night in this rattling cage!"

"Might as well get some sleep, you two," Peg sighed, "It's gonna' be a _loooong _drive…"


	13. Bella Notte

Chapter Thirteen

"Lady! Hey, Lady!"

When she heard her name whispered from the other side of the fence, Lady trotted over to the Doberman mutt beckoning her. Before she could help it, a big, happy grin spread over her face as she beamed up at him.

"Oh, Buster, I'm so glad you came!" Lady smiled at the huge dog, "I- I suppose I was a little worried that you would- "

" -That I would forget? No way, beautiful!" Buster laughed, "I'd never pass up tha' chance ta' take ya' out around tha' town!"

"Do you really think it's alright for me to sneak out like this? Will the girls be okay?" she looked back worriedly at the Darling's house, where her daughters slept soundly inside.

"Tha' three of them will be fine. They're big girls. Besides, when was tha' last time ya' had some fun away from home?" the Doberman asked with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Well… when you put it that way…"

"Alrighty, then! Come on outta' that yard! Ya' been cooped up in there for far too long!" Buster cheered, running alongside her as she sprinted over to the open gate. The golden Cocker Spaniel took one last look back at her owners' home, then darted out the gate and ran into the street beside Buster.

"Ha ha! Well done, beautiful! We'll make a rebel outta' ya yet!" he grinned, gazing at her affectionately.

"Oh dear… I am being a rebel, aren't I?" Lady bit her lip nervously, but then broke into a sheepish, shameful grin as she looked up at him, "…I kind of like it."

"I like it, too," Buster whispered, bringing his head down and licking her cheek.

She immediately blushed, looking flustered and a bit appalled.

"B- Buster!"

"Follow me, my Lady!" he made a very over-the-top bow, then started off down the sidewalk at a happy saunter.

Lady bit her lip once more, feeling far more than apprehension building up inside her chest, but she nevertheless followed after the big, beaming Doberman.

Buster led Lady through the streets of the town as they broke into casual conversation, smiling and laughing many times for no particular reason. As they strolled about, Lady glanced up at the sun, disappearing behind the rooftops of their quaint little town as evening faded into nighttime. Walking around with Buster like so, she couldn't help but think back to the happy, romantic night she had spent out with Tramp. That wonderful night seemed like it had been a lifetime ago - so much had changed since then, and in such little time - but Lady quickly put those thoughts out of her head.

They first made their way to the town park, ambling down the walkway while gazing at the stars overhead that shone brightly through the breaks in the leaves on the tree branches. The two dogs passed by many loving couples, men and women sitting together on park benches or taking a walk under the stars like they were.

The later summer air was filled with romance, and for just a moment, Lady dreamt of giving way to love as she walked side by side with her Buster, her strong, large, handsome Buster… but the moment passed, and they continued walking.

Buster and Lady crossed a beautiful wooden bridge that stood over a small creek. The bridge was very pretty, but Lady had the feeling that she'd crossed it before. When they came to a heart with an arrow through it, drawn into drying cement on the park walkway, Lady was certain that she had seen it before.

"Buster… this is…" she began, gazing down at the initials of a couple inside the heart, under which were the paw prints of two dogs, "…This is the same path that Tramp and I took on our… our special night."

"Don't think about then, Lady… Please, just think about tonight… All that with tha' Tramp is over now," Buster tried to assure her, but Lady still felt nervous passing by the familiar sights she had seen with Tramp nearly a year ago.

The park was certainly very beautiful and very romantic, especially at night with the moon and stars hanging above them, but right now Lady couldn't stand to be there, "Buster, can we just leave the park? Please?"

"Why? I thought ya' woulda' liked it here," he asked, sounding a little hurt.

"I do, but this park… that hill up there… this is where Tramp and I fell in love," she whispered, unable to meet his eyes, "I just… I want to leave. Please."

"Okay, Lady. Let's go," Buster smiled, once again bending down to lick her cheek lovingly. She didn't try to protest this time, but Lady was beginning to feel very, very uncomfortable with their little night out and about the town.

The two dogs left the park and headed back for the streets of the town, but walking the streets with Buster only reminded her of how she and Tramp had walked the streets and sidewalks together. The park, the town, it was hopeless - she just couldn't help thinking back to Tramp and the night they had shared, their _bella notte_.

"Buster… can we just go back to the house now?" she asked him sadly. If Buster had been a little hurt before, he sounded absolutely heartbroken now.

"C'mon, beautiful, don't go yet! We can still - We could go - Oh, I know! We can get something ta' eat! How about that?"

Though still disheartened by all the reminders of her night with Tramp, Lady just had to giggle at his charming persistence.

"Okay, then. We'll get some food," she smiled, and Buster gave her a huge, relieved grin.

"Hmm… where ta' take a lovely lady out for dinner… Not Francois… Bernie's closed down…" the Doberman thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up, "Oh, I got it! I know a place ya' gonna' love!"

He bounded off down the sidewalk, and Lady followed after him, apprehensive but a little excited at the same time. They came to a street corner that Lady felt was vaguely familiar, what with the clothes lines hanging from house to house and the smell of pasta in the air. Buster grinned and asked her to close her eyes and stay there.

She did so, and Buster ran off around the back of the restaurant, coming up to the back door and barking loudly.

"Hmm? Who can it a-be, eh? Is it-a Mista' Butch-a?" a large, Italian chef laughed as he came to the door, but he jumped when he saw which dog it was, "Oh!_ Crush_, huh? H- How are we-a tonight, Mista' Crush-a?"

Tony gave a nervous laugh as Buster barked again, showing off his very sharp canine teeth, "Uh… H- Hey, Joe! It's-a that Crush! I think he wants-a food, no?"

"Well, give it-a to him! An' quick!" a skinnier Italian man appeared, looking just as nervous as Tony upon seeing the Doberman, "J- Just you tonight, Crush-a boy?"

Buster shook his head and gave two barks.

"Oh! Two of ya', huh? Sounds like-a Crush has a date, eh Joe?" Tony grinned, a little less nervous now, "Well, we both-a know tha' routine!"

Tony and Joe went back into the kitchen, emerging with a small, round table, a red-and-white checkered tablecloth, candles, a bread basket, and a platter of spaghetti for two dogs to enjoy together.

Buster barked his appreciated as they fixed the table, then ran back to where Lady was waiting for him, "Alright, ya' can open ya' eyes now!"

She did so and immediately gasped when she saw the restaurant he had brought her to, "_Tony's_! Buster, this is Tony's!"

"I know! Follow me, beautiful!" he grinned, leading her around to the back of the restaurant where their candlelit dinner was prepared.

"Ta da! Dinner for two!" Buster smiled, proud of his setup.

"Oh no, Buster! I can't- "

But it was just then that Tony and Joe spotted the dog that Buster was having dinner with. Joe's eyes bulged out in shock, "Hey, Tony! That's-a Butch's girl, is it-a not? Why is she-a with Crush, huh?"

Tony, however, put a hand on his partner's shoulder and told him, "Joe, their-a romance is-a not our concern. We fix tha' spaghetti, nothing more."

Joe gave Lady a scathing look and muttered something about his wife and all women being the same, but Tony elbowed him in the ribs and left with him back to the kitchen.

Buster had noticed that Lady looked very upset, and asked with concern, "What is it, Lady? What's wrong, huh?"

"Oh, why would you do this, Buster? This dinner at Tony's - This whole night is the same as the one Tramp and I- " Lady got out, beginning to cry, "Did you d- do all this on purpose?"

"Y- Yeah… I thought that you- you would like it," Buster hung his head in shame, "Ya' liked this night with tha' Tramp, so I thought ya' would like it with m- me."

"No, Buster! When I told you about my night with the Tramp, I didn't want you to- to do the same- "

Lady couldn't finish, letting herself cry and cry. Any other time, Buster would've instantly moved to comfort her, but now he just stayed where was.

"I… I wanted this ta' be our… our _bella notte_…" Buster explained to her, a tear escaping from his own eye, "…I wanted ya' ta' fall in love with me… because I love you, Lady. I love you."

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Buster…" Lady sobbed. Neither dog cold bear to look at the other.

"D- Do ya' mean ya'… ya' don't…"

"No, Buster. I don't. I don't love you… I'm so sorry," she cried, finally coming to understand her own feelings, "…I wouldn't be so upset over Tramp leaving me if I… if I didn't still love him."

"Tha' T- Tramp… after everything he's done… ya' still love him?"

"Yes… Yes, I do."

They both stayed there for a long moment, making no sound except for Lady's tears and the sniffs that Buster tried to hide. When it was clear that there was no more to be said, nothing else for the two of them that night, Lady moved away from their dinner table and walked back out onto the streets. She had left to return to the Darling's house without so much as a goodbye, but Buster didn't follow her.

He simply remained at the table, set with candles and bread and spaghetti by Tony and Joe. Their whole night had been just the way that Lady had described her night with the Tramp… but Lady couldn't fall in love with him.

"She still loves _him_… not me…" Buster whispered, barely able to comprehend it. He had been so sure that she was over the Tramp, sure that she no longer loved that traitor, but he'd been wrong.

Buster stared sadly at the untouched plate of spaghetti in silence until his stomach growled very loudly.

"Might as well," he sighed, then promptly devoured it all.


	14. Old Buddies

Chapter Fourteen

How much longer could he go on like this?

For the longest time, he'd had residual thoughts about maybe returning to the streets, an inner yearning for the wild excitement of his old life that he had denied feeling. And now, here he was, right back where he had always wanted to be - but he was miserable.

Perhaps it was because he had been a younger dog when he was "the greatest street dog there ever was." Admittedly, his back and legs now hurt more often than not, and he found himself taking longer and longer to catch his breath after running. But maybe it was more than just his body - maybe his heart just wasn't into it anymore.

But if his heart wasn't into life as a street dog, where was it now? He knew the answer, of course he knew. He just wished he were wrong, wished he didn't still love his Lady.

After all, as wonderful as it is to love someone, there's nothing worse than that person not loving you in return.

_Well, no, that's not true_, he corrected himself with a wrench of his heart. _Knowing that you'll never see your son again is worse._

The Tramp had nothing left to care about now. Lady no longer loved him, Scamp had left on a train, and his return to life as a street dog was just a bad attempt to relive his glory days. He found himself missing the love the Darlings had given him, the bond he'd shared with Jim Dear, but he couldn't go back to them and his three lovely daughters while Lady was there.

He really had nothing now. _So why do I even care? Why should I care anymore?_

His stomach growled, but he'd already eaten the few edible scraps out of the garbage bins in the area. The Tramp looked up at the stores and buildings around him and recognized where he was in the town this night.

_Tony's is just a short walk away… I outta' go there, get some bones… anything_, he told himself as his stomach growled again. _But Tony's is where Lady and I… I can't…_

His stomach rumbled a third time, louder than before.

_Well, why _shouldn't_ I go to Tony's? I don't care if Lady and I spent our special night there. I don't care about that anymore - I'm hungry and I'm getting food._

And so, the Tramp took off down the sidewalk in the direction of the Tony's restaurant. To his surprise, however, he ran into a dog who, by the looks of it, was just leaving from Tony's himself… a dog he knew only too well.

"Buster," the Tramp huffed irritably, "What are you doing here?"

He expected the Doberman mutt to get angry and make some snide comment, but Buster just hung his head and muttered, "Nothin'."

Buster didn't even bother shoving past the Tramp as he walked away from him. Before he got too far, the Tramp caught up to him and asked, "Well, what's wrong with you, huh? And why aren't you with Lady if she loves _you_ now?"

The Doberman whipped around and snarled at him, "Hey, what's it ta' you? So what if she don't- if she- "

His voice faltered, he turned his head away, and the Tramp could almost swear he heard him sniff back some tears, "B- Buster? What's going on?"

"I- I ain't gonna' talk ta' _you_ about it, that's for sure! Ya' tha' whole reason Lady don't- " Buster growled, but again choked up and couldn't finish the accusation. He was quiet for a moment, save a few more sniffs, but when Buster spoke again, it was in a soft, strained voice.

" …What does it matter now, huh? Why do I even care anymore?"

"Y'know, I was actually just thinking that same thing to myself," the Tramp grinned in spite of himself, "Why do I care anymore? I've got nothing left now. Nothing."

"'Guess we're in tha' same boat then, ain't we?" Buster laughed, a genuine smile on his face, "Just two low-life street dogs with nothin' left."

"Kind of like how it used to be, Buster buddy," the Tramp smiled, shaking his head wearily, "But I don't get it. Don't you still have Lady?"

"I… Y'see… " he tried to explain, but gave up and just asked, " …Look, pal… can we just talk about it together? Just you an' me, talk like how we used to?"

"Sure, Buster. Sure we can."

"Thanks," he smiled, took a deep breath, and then began to talk, "Okay… I met Lady three days ago when I limped into ya' yard - I'd hurt my leg, y'see. When I saw her, I- I thought she was tha' most beautiful dog I'd ever seen in my life. I _wanted_ her, an' when she let me stay with her, after we'd talked an' gotten closer, I… I thought she might want me, too."

"But… I thought Lady _did_ want you… You told me she did, remember?" the Tramp asked, confused, "Yesterday evening, right before I ran out of the yard, you said that Lady loved _you_ now, not me."

"I- I know I said that… but it was a lie," Buster admitted shamefully, "I lied 'cause I wanted Lady for myself, an' I lied ta' get at you… I even lied to Lady an' said that you really had ditched her for Peg."

"…You lied. You lied to both of us," the Tramp's eyes narrowed, but he did not sound angry, just tired and weary.

"I'm sorry. I thought I could get Lady ta' fall in love with me, 'cause she was already mad at you… but she don't love me," Buster sighed. He paused, then began to explain everything that had happened earlier that night between himself and Lady. Buster told how he had tried to have the same _bella notte_ with Lady that she had had with the Tramp nearly a year ago. The Tramp's eyes widened as Buster recounted how he'd even gotten Tony and Joe to set up a candlelit dinner for him and Lady, but it had all come to nothing.

"Tha' reason that Lady couldn't love me is that… she still loves you. Even though she thinks ya' left her ta' be with Peg, Lady told me she still loves you," Buster finished. The Doberman spoke and looked at the Tramp not as though he were an enemy, but a friend that he hadn't seen in a very long time.

"She loves me… She still loves me! I- I can't believe it!" the Tramp cheered, beaming from ear to ear, "And you know what, buddy? I still love her, too! I love her!"

"I'm happy for ya', old buddy," Buster smiled sadly.

The disappointment on Buster's face did not go unnoticed. When he considered how Buster felt, the Tramp felt bad for cheering that Lady still loved him. He was quiet, and then, "…Buster? Buddy, I... I want to know… did you love her, too?"

"Did I love Lady?" Buster huffed, then shook his head sadly, "Maybe a little, yeah. Maybe not at all… but I finally understand why ya' ditched me ta' be with her. Pretty sure I woulda' done tha' same thing if it had been me."

"You really understand, then?"

"Yep. I really do," the Doberman grinned, "I ain't even angry at ya' anymore. I think I got tired of being angry at ya' a long time ago."

Buster thought back to when he'd been in his junkyard and decided that he would find the Tramp to get even with him, to beat him up. Now, Buster knew that what he had really wanted to do was find his old buddy and apologize to him, to make it all okay between them. So yeah, Squeak had been right.

"How about it, Buster buddy? Are we friends again?" the Tramp asked him hopefully.

Just like that, Buster was a puppy once again, determined to climb to the top of the biggest mountain of trash in the town junkyard. He had always fallen before, but this time Buster was determined to be King of the Junkyard.

The Doberman puppy jumped up on a garbage bag, climbed on a broken chair, and crawled further and further up the trash pile. Just when he'd gotten farther than he'd ever gotten before - about six feet off the ground - his paw slipped yet again and he began to fall.

But the Tramp reached up and held out a paw, preventing Buster from falling. The puppy looked down at his friend, who smiled, "Whoa, kid! Don't want you falling down again, do we? Let's get you to the top."

Buster's face lit up with joy as he climbed further up the mountain of trash, the Tramp climbing under him to reach out a helpful paw or allow him to put a foot on his head. Together, they climbed higher and higher up the pile, and together, Buster reached the top.

"Yeah! Woo-hoo! I'm King of the Junkyard!" the Doberman puppy cheered triumphantly, then looked back down at his older friend with a big grin.

"I always knew you were, Buster buddy," the Tramp beamed.

Now, Buster stood facing the Tramp on the sidewalk in the middle of the night, and the Tramp was beaming at him once again.

"Of course we're friends, old buddy," Buster grinned at him, "Of course we are."

"I'm glad to hear that," the mutt laughed happily, but his expression suddenly became worried, "Buster… what am I supposed to do about Lady? Will she believe that I love her?"

"I don't know, pal," Buster shook his head, "Ya' gonna' have ta' ask her that yourself. All I know is that she does still love ya'. I promise she does."

The Tramp nodded, grinning once more, " …Thank you for telling me. It means a lot."

"Don't mention it," Buster smirked, "So what are ya' gonna' do now?"

"Now? Now I've got to go talk to Lady. I've got to clear up this big misunderstanding for good," he explained, then nodded again gratefully and took off down the sidewalk towards the Darlings' home in Snob Hill, all previous hunger gone.

"Good luck, old buddy," Buster smiled. He walked off in the opposite direction, thinking about going back to his junkyard to rest for a while.

As he walked away, the Tramp's question came to his mind… Did he really love Lady? She was certainly different from any girl he'd ever known before; her lovable naivety, her sweet-natured manner, her properness, and her beauty were all unparalleled.

"Okay… maybe I do love her," Buster sighed. Lady had been kinder to him than any other dog ever had aside from the Tramp, and he always felt his heart soar when he was near her. He did love Lady, he couldn't deny it.

But she loved the Tramp, and the Tramp loved her. As much as Buster wanted to be with Lady, he knew in his heart that it wasn't meant to be. Lady and the Tramp belonged together.

He loved her, but he had to let go of her if he wanted to be happy - and right now, having made up with the Tramp, he really was happy. Buster sighed, then looked up at the night sky above the town rooftops and smiled, "I guess sometimes… sometimes we have ta' let go of what we can't have."

And it was okay. Buster knew everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Heading towards Snob Hill where the Darlings lived, the Tramp couldn't have been happier. He had finally made up with his old friend Buster, and now he would make up with Lady. She still loved him, and he loved her.

He would have given anything to have Scamp back home with them, but maybe - just maybe - his son would come home to them. Maybe Peg would change her mind and she, Angel, and Scamp would take a train heading back to their town. He had to be optimistic, because everything was going to work out now. He knew it would.

The Tramp's legs were hurting him again, and he could feel himself going slower and slower, but it didn't matter. He had to get home and see Lady. The mutt did his best to pick up the pace, but when he turned the next corner, he had to take a moment to stop and catch his breath.

But a moment was all that it took for a dogcatcher to spot him.

When the Tramp first saw the dogcatcher, he wasn't worried because he knew he had a collar on - until he remembered that he had angrily thrown off his collar when he'd returned to his life on the streets.

The dogcatcher readied his net and quickly ran towards him, the Tramp tried to dart away, but he was still worn out. As fast as he could wasn't fast enough, and the dogcatcher caught up and grabbed him.

The Tramp struggled to break free, but the dogcatcher's grip was strong and his arms were muscular. He was caught, and in the blink of an eye he found himself defeated and locked up in the back of the dogcatcher's vehicle.

The man got into his vehicle and sped off down the street, heading for the pound with yet another collarless street dog. But while it was just another catch for him, this was something that had hardly ever happened to the Tramp.

_I don't believe it…_ he tried to grasp what had just happened as the car drove down the bumpy road._ I'm caught - going to the pound - this can't happen!_

He couldn't be thrown in the pound like this, not when he was about to return to the Darlings and make up with Lady.

_What if the Darlings think I ran away for good? What if they've given up checking the pound?_ In the dogcatcher's cage, his every fear seemed very real as his heart beat rapidly. _Surely not - surely they'll come get me out - won't they?_

One thing he knew for sure was that he truly wasn't the street dog he used to be. He wasn't _THE_ Tramp anymore. No, the Tramp would never have gotten caught like this, never.

As the dogcatcher's car bumped away down the town road, Buster managed to catch a glimpse of the unfortunate dog on his way to the pound.

"That's tha' Tramp! But it can't be - he'd never- " Buster stared in shock, but his shock quickly turned to anger.

"You ain't gonna' lock my old buddy up in that pound! I won't let ya'!"


	15. Jailed

Chapter Fifteen

Buster immediately began chasing after the dogcatcher's vehicle, but it was already a ways ahead of him. The Doberman's paws splashed through puddles and hurt from gravel, but he kept running after the car that held his friend, the Tramp.

The car turned the corner and disappeared into the hectic crowd of dinky automobiles and horse-drawn carriages treading through the town street. Buster tried to spot the dogcatcher's vehicle in the traffic, but he feared it was hopeless. He ran further on down the sidewalk, eyes darting through the speeding crowd of cars and carts, but no luck.

"Aah, now how am I supposed ta'... " he muttered frantically, racking his brain for an idea, a way to rescue the Tramp, "_Uggh_… Ooh! I got it! I'll take a shortcut ta' tha' pound an' get there before they do!"

And so, Buster dashed off through alleys, backstreets, and in-between buildings to get to the pound as soon as he could. The dog was almost there when he turned into an alleyway and came to a locked wooden gate blocking his path.

"_No_! C'mon, I'm almost there!" Buster barked in exasperation, but took a few steps back and tried to think of a way past the obstacle. There were no trash bins or barrels or crates he could jump up on, and the wooden gate was too tall for him to just leap over.

"There's no way! Aagh!" he shook his head, desperate and frustrated. The dog turned around and began to walk out of the alley, hoping to find another quick way to the pound but sure he'd never beat the dogcatcher there now. Before he left, Buster took another look at the lock on the gate - a bolt was slid into the lock, keeping the gate firmly shut - but then he remembered something.

"Hey… that's tha' same kind of lock tha' Tramp would always pick!" Buster remembered that the Tramp had a certain trick for opening these locks - but what was it?

Then Buster recalled a confrontation between himself and the Tramp not long ago in an alley just like this one. Scamp had chosen to be a Junkyard Dog to spite his father, but when the Tramp left the alley, he'd knocked the bolt out of a lock to open a gate to show them all he still had his skills.

Suddenly very glad for having had that confrontation over Scamp, Buster ran up to the gate and used his paw to bump the bolt up and out of the lock, just as he'd seen the Tramp do. As he'd hoped, the gate creaked open.

"Success! Thank you, old buddy!" Buster cheered, running through the open gate and out of the alleyway.

When he emerged, he spotted the local dog pound a little ways down the road - but right in front of him, parked in front of a liquor store, was the dogcatcher's automobile. Buster ran to the back of the vehicle at once, but to his surprise, the dog - or rather, dogs - inside the cage wasn't the Tramp.

"Scamp? Peg? Angel-cakes? What are ya' doin' in there? I thought you all ditched town tha' other day," Buster asked the three dogs stuck behind bars.

"_Buster_!" Angel scoffed, rolling her eyes at the sight of him, "And here I was hoping to never see you again."

"Need I remind ya' who's in tha' cage an' who's here ta' let ya' out?"

"You'll let us out?" Scamp's face immediately lit up; the little guy looked very relieved and happy to see the mean Doberman he'd once idolized.

"Of course I will, Scampster! Just sit tight!" he laughed. The lock that kept the door of bars firmly shut was the same kind of lock Buster had just picked back in the alley; a bolt keeping the door shut, only the dogs inside the cage weren't able to reach it. Buster, however, had no trouble knocking the nail out and opening the cage door. Scamp, Angel, and Peg quickly jumped out of the dogcatcher's car and followed Buster into a nearby alley, hiding in case the dogcatcher were to come out of the liquor store.

"Well, don't everybody thank me at once," Buster huffed in annoyance.

Peg and Angel both scowled at him mumbled a half-hearted "Thanks." Scamp, on the other paw, very enthusiastically woofed, "Thank you, Buster! I'm really glad you were here! We thought we would just get thrown in the pound and have to sneak back out through the tunnel."

"Tunnel? Whaddya' talkin' about?"

Raising an eyebrow, Peg explained to him, "Y'know, tha' tunnel that tha' dogs in tha' pound dug so they can sneak out. Bull an' I used it ta' escape that jail no more than a week ago."

"Oh! Yeah, _that_ tunnel," he woofed, but then went on to tell them, "Nah, them dogcatchers discovered it an' sealed it off just a few days ago. I guess it was right after you an' Bull snuck out."

"An' all tha' pound dogs have been stuck in there ever since?" Peg marveled; Buster shook his head sadly, "Wow… Am I ever glad ya' came an' let us out!"

"Why were ya' three in that cage in tha' first place? I heard that ya'd skipped town… what? Day before today?" the Doberman asked them, "Didn't ya' get on a train an' leave?"

"Yep. Sure did," Peg nodded, launching into the story of how she'd asked her estranged daughter to leave town with her, and Angel had agreed. Scamp then explained to Buster how he'd chased Angel from night till morning to the train yard, jumped on the speeding train, and persuaded the mother and daughter to return with him.

"An' I guess tha' dogcatcher caught ya' an' brought ya' back ta' town? Not a bad way ta' travel."

"It was a quick ride back, even if it took all night long," Scamp grinned, stretching out his very sore legs.

"Well, I gotta' say, I'm glad ya' guys came back," Buster smiled at them, throwing Angel a very unsubtle and cheesy wink, "An' I'm especially glad ta' see _you_, Angel-cakes!"

"_Buster_!" Peg scoffed at the young Doberman mutt, "My little girl is _waaay_ out of your league!"

"Aww, I'm only kiddin'," he grinned his sharp teeth at Peg and her daughter, "Angel-cakes knows I'm only kiddin', don't ya'? That's why you're my girl!"

Angel rolled her eyes at him but said nothing.

"Ah, c'mon Angel! Won't ya' tell me you're not my girl?" Buster begged her, sounded extremely disappointed, "Ya' haven't said more than two words ta' me? Whaddid' I do, huh?"

"What did you _do_?" she flared up, steam practically blowing out her ears, "Don't tell me you forgot about all the trouble you caused for Scamp! You're nothing but bad news, Buster," Angel now turned to her mother and Scamp, "And I don't see how you two can just chat with him like he's an old friend!"

"Angel, Buster just let us out of that cage! Didn't you hear that we would've been stuck in the pound if it wasn't for him?" Scamp reprimanded her, shocked that she was so ungrateful, "I know Buster was bad and all, but I don't think we should hold a grudge against him."

"Thank you, Scamp-o! My main man!" Buster laughed, but then took on an apologetic tone, "Angel-cakes, I know I was a jerk an' all, but I shouldn't have been. I'm sorry for all tha' problems I caused. An' I'm real glad ya' three came back! Real glad!"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Well, listen up, guys," Buster began, sounding far more serious than they had ever heard him, "Tha' Tramp got nabbed by a dogcatcher not long ago. I chased 'em for a bit till I lost 'em in traffic, but I know they were headin' ta' tha' pound."

"Dad got taken to the pound?" Scamp gasped in horror, "We've gotta' free him! Dad broke me out when I was in the pound, so now I have to break him out!"

"I'm with ya', kiddo'," Peg nodded in agreement, "That handsome devil got me outta' tha' pound more times than I can count. Least I can do is return tha' favor."

"Then we better go! Buster… " Angel glared at him, but then, " …lead the way."

"Alright, Angel-cakes! Follow me, fellas!"

The four dogs took off sprinting for the town pound, Buster in the lead. As they ran towards their rescue mission, Angel looked up at the Doberman and added, "But just so you know, I'm not _your_ girl. I'm Scamp's girl."

"Yeah, whatever."

* * *

The Tramp slouched into the filthy cell, mud and straw littered all over the ground and a pathetically small amount of food and water provided. It wasn't enough to feed the Tramp, let alone the other mangy pound dogs with him in the dank cell.

"Well, blimey! It's tha' Tramp!" Bull the Bulldog laughed in his very loud, very Cockney accent, "Never thought I'd see tha' day when tha' great Tramp got thrown in tha' bloody pound!"

"Like I said Bull, the times are changing," the Tramp managed a weary grimace, slinking over to lie down on some straw in the corner of the cell, "Besides, last time I checked you were out of the pound, too. What happened? Miss the cozy old jail cell too much?"

"It ain't my fault, now. It's them bloody dogcatchers! Snatched me up when I took a wrong turn looking for the bakery," Bull explained, making the other dogs around them snicker.

"Well guys, I gotta' say, I've never been locked up in the pound like this before. It's kind of embarrassing."

"_Kind of_? More than kind of!" one of the mutts named Toughy laughed at him, "You're tha' Tramp! Tha' greatest street dog of us all! I didn't think you'd _ever_ land in tha' pound!"

"Believe me, I wasn't planning on it."

"None of us ever plan on it, amigo," a little brown Chihuahua looked up at him from the other corner, "Yet here we all are."

"Nice to see you again, Pedro. How's your sister?" the Tramp asked curiously.

"Rosita Chiquita Juanita Chihuahua? She's good. Still head over heels in love with you, though."

"Ah, that's unfortunate."

"What I don't get is why ya' were out on tha' streets without a collar," Toughy asked as he scratched an itch behind his ear, "Didn't ya' become a house dog ta' be with that pretty Cocker Spaniel girl?"

"Yeah, amigo! I head ya' gave up life on tha' streets," Pedro added, rather confused.

The Tramp opened his mouth to explain, but Bull beat him to it, "I can tell you why, chums! Tha' Tramp here got tired of being a lousy house dog!"

"That's not true," the Tramp corrected the English Bulldog, "I love being a house dog and living with my family. You see, I just got angry, threw my collar off, and ran back onto the streets, but it was a foolish thing to do. I miss my family, and once I'm out of this jail I'm going right back home. Truth is, fellas, I can't be a street dog anymore. I can't be _the_ Tramp."

"Huh? Whaddya' mean?"

"Well, blimey! Why can't ya'?"

"I do understand," a large, slender gray Russian wolfhound smiled an adjacent cell, "Tramp here moved on from past life on streets. Sooner or later, we all must move on with life."

"You always did have a way with words, Boris," he grinned at the wise canine philosopher, then turned to the dogs in his own cell, "But I couldn't have put it better myself. Believe me, guys, I love the thrill and excitement of being a street dog, but I love being in a warm, safe house with a loving family even more. See, I'm just not as slick and talented as I once was, so really… I can't be the Tramp anymore."

"Sometimes we let of go of what we cannot have. Then we're happy," Boris wisely remarked.

"That's right, friend. And I have," Tramp nodded to Boris and the others, "I've left my old life behind me. Truth is, I did that when I settled down with Lady, the girl I love."

The pound dogs all woofed and barked in applause, everyone happy for him. When they settled back down, Tramp asked, "So how's a dog supposed to get out of this jail, huh?"

"For tha' longest time we had that escape tunnel good ol' Daschie dug out. But just tha' other day, them dogcatchers discovered it and sealed it off," Toughy explained with a sad sigh, "Now there's no way to get out."

"There has to be some way! I have to get back home to Lady!"

"I wish there was, amigo, but there's not," Pedro sighed, "We're all jailed up for good."

Tramp stared out the grimy bars of the cell they were locked in. If only there were some way to get out of the cell, then escaping the pound would be simple - he'd broken Scamp out of this pound just recently. But that had been from outside the cell, and now he was stuck inside it.

Now, he really was jailed.


	16. Prison Escape

Chapter Sixteen

"So what's the plan?"

"It's simple. We get into tha' pound, break tha' Tramp outta' his cell, an' we all get back out before tha' dogcatcher gets us," Buster explained to them all.

"Sounds straightforward enough," Scamp nodded with an optimistic grin.

"It ain't gonna' be that easy, though," Peg pointed out, "But I've been in an' outta' this pound enough times ta' know that tha' best way ta' get in is through that front door there."

"Then we'll have to somehow get the dogcatcher inside to open it for us. I say one of us barks like crazy until he comes running out. Then, while that door's still open, the other three sneak inside the pound without the dogcatcher noticing," Angel planned their way in like a professional burglar.

"I can't think of a better plan, baby," Peg beamed proudly at her daughter, "But if one of us had got to be tha' distraction, it's gonna' be me."

"No way, Momma! I can run faster than you, I'll do it."

"Nah, I'll do it, Angel-cakes. We don't wanna' risk you gettin' caught," Buster told her off. Angel looked very indignant at their protective attitudes, but before she could protest, Scamp spoke up.

"No, no, none of you guys can be the distraction! Buster, you need to pick the lock on the cell my dad's in. Peg, you know the pound inside and out, so you have to go, too. And I'm not gonna' risk that dogcatcher getting you, Angel," Scamp explained to each of them in turn, "_I'll_ do it. I'm the only one wearing a collar, so even if the dogcatcher does get me, I'll be returned home anyways."

The other three dogs realized that they couldn't argue with the logic behind this. Angel, a bit ashamed that she'd taken off her collar when she'd left with her mother, sighed and said, "…That does make the most sense, Tenderfoot. Just be careful, and don't get caught."

"Not a chance!" Scamp grinned, then licked Angel's cheek for reassurance. The young dog ran up to the front door of the dog pound; when he was there, Buster, Peg, and Angel hid out of sight behind a corner of the pound. With everyone in position, Buster nodded to Scamp, Scamp nodded to Buster and began barking as loudly as he could.

Just as they'd hoped, the door of the pound burst open and the large, ugly, dogcatcher - the one who'd captured Tramp - ran outside. He glared down at Scamp, who bit his leg.

The man howled in pain and began chasing after Scamp, who had already taken off down the road. The dogcatcher hadn't noticed three other dogs sneaking inside the dog pound before the door swung shut.

"An' we're in!" Buster laughed triumphantly.

"I just hope Tenderfoot will be okay," Angel worried, then followed Buster and her mother further into the pound.

Like they had planned, Peg led them quickly through the place, and they were soon in the back of the pound where cells held the captured dogs. All of the jailed mutts stared curiously at them, wondering why any dog would willingly enter the pound. Many of them, however, recognized Peg and woofed their greeting.

"Peggy! What are ya' doin' back here, for bloody sake?" Bull marveled when he saw her.

"We came 'cause tha' Tramp here got himself thrown in this dump," Peg grinned at Bull and the other pound dogs, but her eyes settled on the Tramp, "Figured I had ta' bust ya' out after ya' busted me out all those times."

"Aww, Peggy! I always busted you out 'cause you're my friend," Tramp smiled through the bars of his cell.

"Nice ta' know a gal can have a real friend out on tha' streets," she beamed at him.

Bull trotted over to her with a slobbery grin on his face, "Hey, hey, Peggy! Ain't I a real friend, too? Ain't I?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But just _barely_," she teased the Bulldog, who grinned from ear to ear and tried to give her a big lick through the bars of the cell. Peg turned to look up at Buster, "C'mon, let's get them outta' there!"

"My pleasure, Peggy!" Buster smirked. The lock on the cell was the same as the one that had been on the dogcatcher's vehicle, and Buster easily knocked the bolt up and out of the lock just the same as he'd done before. The cell door swung open, and Tramp happily ran out.

"Thanks, Buster! Now, wasn't that the little trick that _I_ always used for picking locks?"

"It sure was. What can I say? I learned from tha' best."

Once Tramp had left the cell, Bull, Toughy, and Pedro all ran out as well. Bull bounded over to Peg and gave her a slobbery lick on the cheek, very happy to see his friend. The dogs looked up at their wise friend Boris, still locked in the cell beside them.

"Man, ya' gotta' let our amigo Boris out, too!" Pedro insisted.

"Of course we do!" Tramp agreed, then knocked the bolt out of the lock of Boris's cell. The door opened and the gray Russian wolfhound gratefully walked free.

"Good will unto you, my friend," Boris heartily thanked him.

"No need to thank me, old sport!" Tramp laughed, then ran over to the next cell and picked its lock as well. The dogs trapped inside happily ran out, barking gleefully. Tramp looked back at Buster, "C'mon, old buddy! Let's free everyone here!"

"Ha ha! Bea-_uuu_-tiful!" the Doberman cheered, then joined Tramp in picking the locks on all the cells inside the pound, freeing every single trapped dog, every last jailed mutt.

Tramp, Buster, Peg, Angel, Bull, Toughy, Pedro, Boris, and all the other pound dogs woofed and barked and laughed as they ran free, out of their cells at last. Even Reggie, the vicious, monstrous Bulldog, was thrilled to be let out of his cell, and he ran happily alongside the rest of them.

Their wild celebration was interrupted all of a sudden by the door swinging open and the giant, brutish dogcatcher entering. In the dogcatcher's arms was none other than Scamp, struggling and snapping and trying to break free.

"Let go of my son!" Tramp barked furiously at him, "Get him, everyone!"

All of the pound dogs charged at the dogcatcher, pouncing on him and running the man over. After all, every dog there could vividly remember the occasion that the dogcatcher had thrown him or her in that pound. While being run over by all the dogs he had caught, the dogcatcher was cursing his useless, bumbling partner for having spent that whole morning in the liquor store.

Scamp broke away from the trampled dogcatcher and joined his father, Buster, Peg, and Angel in running out of the dog pound. All of the other dogs followed suit, and they ran through the door and charged freely through the streets of the town.

As it was still very early in the morning, many annoyed townsfolk flicked on their lamps and peering out their windows to see what all the commotion was. To their great surprise, they saw many, many mangy mutts running happily around the town, yipping and woofing and barking in their newfound freedom.

"Follow me, fellas!" Buster cheered, darting out of the streets and into an alley. Tramp, Scamp, Peg, and Angel followed him through the alleyway, took a few more turns around the town, and entered a large pipe that led them into the town junkyard.

"Ah, home sweet home!" Buster sighed contently, flopping down onto a worn-out mattress. Scamp, Angel, and Peg all found comfortable spots to lie down on as well, everyone taking a well-deserved rest after their big prison escape. Everyone, that was, but Tramp.

"Look, I want to rest too, but you three need to explain what's going on," Tramp asked of Peg, Angel, and Scamp, "I tracked your scent to the train yard, son. I thought you'd left with Angel and Peggy on a train."

"We did, Dad. But after I got on, I convinced them to come back home with me," Scamp explained to his father, "Then that dumb dogcatcher showed up, threw us in his cage, and drove us back to town last night. When we arrived, Buster came and let us out of the cage. Then we all came up with a plan to get you out of the pound, and here we are!"

"Wow… Thank you so much, Scamp! And you too, Angel and Peggy! Thank you all for coming back," Tramp smiled gratefully to them. He then turned to his oldest friend, the young Doberman that Tramp had raised from puppyhood, "…And thank you, Buster buddy. It sounds like we all would've been done for if it wasn't for you."

"Well, I sure wasn't gonna' let my old buddy be locked up in that jail, was I?" Buster laughed, then smirked over at Angel, "Now can I get a thanks from _you_, Angel-cakes?"

Angel rolled her eyes at him, but nevertheless grinned, "Thank you, Buster. Guess you're a better dog than I gave you credit for."

"I'm glad you helped us out, Buster! Really, really glad!" Scamp beamed up at him.

"No problemo', Scamp-o! Your trouble is my trouble."

"Are you sure? I thought Buster's trouble was Buster's trouble."

"No way, Scamp! I'm different now! _Everybody's_ trouble is Buster's trouble!"

"I know, I know! Just kidding!" Scamp laughed, jumping up onto the mattress and beginning a game of chase around the junkyard with Buster.

"You know what I liked best?" Angel grinned at Tramp and her mother, "Seeing that dogcatcher's face when all the pound dogs charged at him and ran out free!"

"That sure was somethin' else. All tha' dogs on these streets are gonna' remember this day for a _loooong_ time," Peg laughed with her daughter.

The early morning sun was now fully risen out on the sky, shining over the mountains of trash in the junkyard and the rooftops of their quaint little town. Buster and Scamp's game of chase came to an end when Scamp ran Buster into a small pile of trash, sending garbage and broken furniture pieces flying everywhere. Scamp and Buster poked their heads out of the mess, laughing like little puppies.

"So what now, Dad?" Scamp asked his father with a big, happy grin.

Tramp beamed at his beloved son and their friends, knowing there was only one place left to go now, "Home. We're going home, Whirlwind."


	17. Family Love

Chapter Seventeen

Tramp, Scamp, Buster, Angel, and Peg all walked down the neat, clean sidewalks of Snob Hill. The area was usually patrolled by several gruff dogcatchers, but that morning they had all been ordered to come down to the local dog pound at once - it would seem that every poor dog in there had broken out and was running freely about the town.

With no dogcatcher to stop them, Tramp, Scamp, and everyone happily ran towards the Darlings' residence, everyone returning home at long last. Scamp raced ahead of the others, laughing and woofing like a younger puppy, "Come one, you guys! I see the house up ahead!"

"We're coming, Tenderfoot!" Angel laughed at his enthusiasm, but she also sped up and ran alongside him.

On the front porch of the Darlings' home, Lady sat with her three daughters - Annette, Colette, and Danielle - talking with her good friends Jock and Trusty. She sighed and asked, "Oh, but what if Tramp never comes back? And what about Scamp? I just can't bear to think that I'll never see my son again!"

"Aye, lassie. I know it be hard," Jock attempted to comfort her, "But it will all be good an' bonnie in tha' end! I know it will."

"That's right, Miss Lady," Trusty gave her a big smile, "Times will always be tough, but the tough never does last. That's what my granddaddy, Old Reliable, used to say! Why, I remember this one time when he- "

" -Aye, aye, lad! Please, spare us tha' hour," Jock rolled his eyes at the old brown Bloodhound.

"Don't be sad, Mommy! I bet they'll be home any minute now!" Danielle woofed.

"And when they do, they'll all be completely _filthy_!" Colette whined.

"That is _if_ they ever come back… Oh, I hope they do…" Annette whimpered.

The three girls all sniffed back a few tears at the thought of their father, brother, and Angel never returning to them. All the dogs on the porch were quiet for a moment, each one dreading the thought, but then - all of a sudden - faint barking could be heard coming their way - faint, familiar barking.

"Is that… _Scamp_?" Lady's eyes lit up when she spotted her son running up to the house.

"And Daddy! Daddy's back!" Annette and Colette cheered.

"Angel, too! And Mr. Buster!" Danielle barked happily.

"They're all back!" Trusty and Jock shouted.

Dogs ran through the gate and into the yard, dogs ran off the porch and onto the yard. Everyone met on the front yard of the Darlings' home, happy to see each other safe and sound, but the happiest ones of all were the family that had been reunited.

"Scamp! You're back home! I knew you'd return!" Danielle squealed, wildly tackling her brother and rolling around on the ground.

"Of course I returned! I was always planning on coming back!"

"Angel! Oh, I'm much happier to see _you_ than Scamp there!" Colette laughed, turning her nose up at her brother.

"Well, that's to be expected," Angel teased Scamp, who looked quite indignant.

Jock and Trusty were both happily greeting Tramp, saying how they knew all along that he would return to his family. Tramp laughed and said the two of them had more faith in him than he himself ever had.

After welcoming Tramp back, Jock and Trusty turned to Buster; there was an awkward pause before Jock began, "Well, laddie… I am glad ta' see ya' as well, I am. I just didn't… Perhaps we…"

"…Perhaps we got off ta' a bad start?" Buster offered.

"Aye! If ya' be friends with Tramp an' Lady, then ya' be a friend ta' us!"

"Aww, you two are tha' best!" Buster grinned at the terrier and Bloodhound, happy to have made even more friends, happier still that everyone there accepted him and was glad he was there. Among the friends and family all overjoyed to see each other again, Buster felt like he really belonged for the first time in a long time.

While it seemed like every dog there had warmly greeted every other dog there, there were two that had not yet spoken a word to each other. Lady and the Tramp both made their way through the crowd of happy dogs, both quite unsure exactly what to say to the other. He looked down at her, she looked up at him, and then they both blurted out, at the very same time, "Can we talk?"

"Oh! Um… If you want…" Lady fluttered, embarrassed.

"Of course! Of course we can talk!" Tramp nodded, then turned back to the other gathered dogs and sought one out in particular, "Would you come too, Peg?"

"And you, Buster?" Lady requested, "Please?"

Peg and Buster both nodded, left the others, and followed Tramp and Lady around the house to the backyard. Out of respect for their privacy, none of the other dogs followed or tried to listen in.

"Pidge… No, _Lady_… I- I wanted to say…"

"Tramp, I need to know… Do you want to leave me for Peg? Do you love her now?"

"What? Is _that_ what ya' thought, hon?" Peg exclaimed in shock.

"No, Pidge, I didn't. And I don't love Peg anymore, at least not like that," Tramp calmly explained to her, "All that between Peggy and me is in the past, just like the rest of my old life. Now she's just a very good friend, nothing more."

"N- Nothing more?" Lady sniffed, trying to not let any tears slip down her face.

"That's right, honey. Nothing more," Peg assured Lady in a soothing tone, "I would _never_ try to take Tramp away from you. I promise I wouldn't."

"T- Thank you, Peg. Thank you so much," Lady took a deep breath, then managed to give Peg a warm smile. She then looked up at Buster, confused, "But then why did you tell me otherwise? You said you were sure Tramp _would_ leave me."

"I… I lied ta' you," Buster shamefully confessed, "I knew all along that he never really would. I always knew he loved ya'."

"But why did you lie?"

"Because… Because I wanted ya' ta' fall in love with me. That's why," Buster couldn't bear to look at Lady as he admitted the truth.

"Oh, Buster… I really am sorry."

"Don't be," he smiled at her, flashing his large, sharp teeth, "You love tha' Tramp an' tha' Tramp loves you. That really is bea-_uuu_-tiful."

She turned her eyes to Tramp, a little afraid and a little excited, "You love me… don't you?"

He gazed down at his Pidge, a gentle, loving, reassuring smile on his face, "Yes, I do love you. I love you so much more than I loved my old life, and I love our family. You all mean everything to me."

One last tear trickled down through the fur of her cheek, but it wasn't a tear of sorrow. She nodded her understanding and whispered, "…Okay."

And then she threw herself against him, rubbed her head against his, pressed herself to his warm and familiar scraggly fur, "I love you, too! Oh, I do love you, Tramp! And I p- promise I wasn't with B- Buster! I promise I wasn't!"

"Shh… It's alright, Pidge… I know you weren't… I know…" Tramp hushed. In that moment, even if Buster hadn't told him prior that she had stayed true to him, he would have whispered the same thing to her.

Lady and the Tramp held their embrace for a moment more, then moved apart; Peg and Buster had respectfully moved away for them, but now Tramp suggested they all go back to the front yard and rejoin the others, and so they did.

When they came around, all the other dogs broke into the story of how Scamp, Angel, and Peg had hopped on a train to leave town but then came back by hitching a ride with a dogcatcher. Tramp, Buster, and Peg already knew the whole thing, of course, but Lady was quite interested in hearing it all.

"Well, it sounds like you three had some time!" Lady smiled at them, blown away at the thought of ever leaving their quaint little town, "But I'm very glad all of you are back safely."

"Me too, Momma!" Scamp snuggled his mother affectionately.

While the family and friends conversed amongst themselves, asking Scamp or Tramp more questions about their time away from home, Angel turned to her mother and indicated for them to both step away from the others.

"Mom… I just… I was wondering…" Angel asked in a quiet, almost trembling voice, "…What are you going to do now? Will you… _leave_?"

"Oh, baby," Peg lovingly embraced her daughter, "I'm not going anywhere."

"You're… not?" she gazed at her mother, a little confused, "But I thought you were tired of this town and wanted to move on?"

"Honey, I've seen a lot in life. Had an owner once, got into tha' dog-an'-pony shows for a while, an' I been in an' outta' that pound an' living on tha' streets ever since. But I've never been as happy in my life as when I been with you," Peg spoke to her, gently and lovingly, "I know I haven't always been the best mother… thinking that ya' were better off with tha' Junkyard Dogs than with me… but I'll do better from now on. An' ya' can bet your favorite bone that I ain't gonna' leave ya' now. I'll never leave ya', baby girl."

"I'm glad, Momma," Angel beamed at her, "And I'm not going to leave either. See, I know now that my home is with Scamp, wherever he is, wherever he goes. So for now I'll stay with his family - I know they love me."

"They do love ya', baby. An' listen to me - if these people haven't kicked out that troublemaker Scamp out of the house, then there's no way they'll ever kick out a nice girl like you."

"Thanks, Mom," she laughed, but then a thought crossed her mind, "So are you just going to keep living on the town streets? Are you okay with that? Are you happy?"

"Y'know, I think I am. I used to think I didn't' have any friends on tha' streets… but busting Tramp, Bull, Boris, an' every other dog outta' tha' pound made me remember that we're all in this together. Each street dog may have to look out for himself above anyone else, but when push comes to shove, we got each other's backs."

"They're all real friends, aren't they?" her daughter grinned, happy for her mother's decision to stay in town, "But y'know Mom, I kinda' got the impression that Bull cares about you as more than a friend."

"Bull? Ya' can't be serious - he's so dim-witted sometimes! An' he can be selfish an- "

" -_Aww_, Momma, he's got a soft spot for you! You know he does!" Angel teased, reveling in playing matchmaker, "You should give him a chance!"

"I suppose he is kinda' cute. An ugly kinda' cute," Peg mused and laughed to herself, "An' he's got that accent of his. Gotta' love a man with an accent."

"See? You'll never be lonely on the streets again if you warm up to Bull!"

"Oh, stop it, you!"

Angel continued teasing until her mother agreed to go and find Bull later that day. The mother and daughter then rejoined the other dogs, pleased to see that Jim Dear and Darling had come out of their house with Junior. They were all ecstatic to see their family of dogs back home where they belonged.

"Scamp! Tramp! They home! They home!" little Junior cheered merrily.

"And Angel! Oh, Angel dear came home with them!" Darling went over to pick her up. As the kind, motherly woman held her, Angel looked back at her own mother. Peg beamed at her beloved girl, then left the gathering and headed out the gate, ready to return to the town streets. They both knew they would see each other again soon, and so Peg walked away and out of sight.

"Let's get you fellas all inside! I'm sure you three need baths!" Jim Dear pointed to Tramp, Scamp, and Angel, who all simultaneously whimpered, "Well, come on. We'll get you all some delicious treats to celebrate your return home! Jock and Trusty, you old boys come in, too!"

The Darlings all went back in the house, and Lady, Danielle, Annette, Colette, Angel, Scamp, Jock, and Trusty all followed them in. Tramp, on the other paw, stayed back to have a word with his old buddy.

"So what's in store for you now, Buster buddy?" he asked the young Doberman, "Will you just go back to living on the streets?"

"Well, _duh_! I been raised on these streets, I ain't about ta' leave them an' become a prissy little house dog like you!" Buster laughed, then shook his head back and forth and yawned loudly, "But seriously, I gotta' go back ta' my junkyard an' take a nap. I'm beat."

"Saving everyone from the pound's exhausting, isn't it?" Tramp grinned at him, "Thank you, Buster. I really am glad that you helped us all out."

"Ah, forget about it! Helpin' each other out - that's just what friends do."

"We _are_ friends, Buster buddy, and I'm real happy that we are," he told the Doberman, "And you know, if _I'm_ not the best street dog there is, then I'm pretty sure that makes you the best!"

"Ya' not just sayin' I'm tha' runner-up, are ya'?"

"Not at all," Tramp chuckled, "But I gotta' tell you, Buster - I honestly think you've always been a better street dog than me. Forget my dumb reputation, _you_ really are the greatest street dog there ever was."

"T- Thank you," Buster sniffed back a tear or two, but soon burst into happy tears and sobbed, "You're my best buddy, Tramp! You're tha' best buddy I ever had!"

"And you're my best buddy," Tramp smiled, remembering the days when Buster was a happy, wide-eyed young puppy that he took care of, "And you know what else, pal? You _are_ the King of the Junkyard."

"I woulda' never been without you."

Jim Dear poked his head out the door and called for Tramp to come back inside. Buster dried his tears, Tramp sniffed back a few of his own, and the two dogs said their goodbyes. Then, with everything said and done, Tramp returned to the Darlings' house, and Buster disappeared into the streets of the town.


	18. Epilogue

Epilogue

The years had come and gone in their quaint little town, found somewhere or other in charming New England, but one wouldn't think that all that much had changed.

Stray dogs still ran footloose and collar-free around the cobbled streets of the town, so the dogcatchers still constantly chased after the mutts with their nets in their dinky automobiles. Fortunately, the dogcatchers still weren't all that good. The street dogs did whatever they could to survive however they could. Each one had to look out for himself above anyone else, but when push came to shove, they all had each other's backs.

Far across town, in a rather wealthy part of the neighborhood, a dog yawned to the lazy afternoon. The yawning canine was laying on the front porch of a large white house, a relaxing spot where he nowadays often enjoyed snoozing away the daylight hours.

His nap was interrupted, however, when a pretty dog with cream fur, a fluffy tail, and a purple collar around her neck, came out the front door and onto the porch.

"You ready to go, Tenderfoot?"

"I guess now's as good a time as any, Angel," Scamp yawned, but smiled nonetheless. His scraggly fur coat was still the same color that was neither quite gray nor brown, but some shade lost and confused somewhere in between. While his fur looked the same, Scamp was now a much larger, fully-grown dog. As anyone could have guessed, he turned out looking exactly like his father before him.

Angel also looked very much the same, except perhaps that her fluff of hair atop her head had grown larger and her bushy tail had become bigger and bushier. She had grown as large as her mother was, but still wasn't as big as Scamp.

"Have you been to see everybody? You talked to everyone?" Angel asked him.

"Let me see… I saw Mom, Dad, and Jock and Trusty. We all went to Aunt Sarah's last night, so I saw Annie, Collie, and Dannie then."

The greatest surprise over the years was definitely how much Aunt Sarah - a cat lover all her life - had taken to Annette, Colette, and Danielle. When her two Siamese cats, Si and Am, had gone and run away about a year or two ago, the old woman had been devastated. Jim Dear and Darling had offered her one or two of the girls as company, and to everyone's surprise, Aunt Sarah had become so fond of the three that she'd taken Annie, Collie, and Donnie to live with her. Si and Am were soon forgotten and not missed.

"Okay, well… what about Buster? Have you seen him?"

"Of course I did! We saw Buster a couple days ago, remember?" Scamp laughed.

Buster still roamed the town, known to all as the greatest street dog that ever was, but he frequently came over to hang out with Tramp and Scamp. The Darlings had gotten pretty used to the Doberman mutt being around, and they even let him sleep in the doghouse whenever he wanted to. Regardless, Buster was still not very fond of being in the doghouse.

"And you've been to see Bull and your mom, right?" Scamp asked her, "How are they, anyways?"

"Oh, they're good. He keeps her from getting lonely," Angel smiled, then broke out a devious grin, "And she likes that old Bulldog more than she'll ever admit."

"That's the Peg we all know and love," he chuckled to himself, "Well then, my dear, if we've said our goodbyes to everyone, I believe we are good to go."

"Then let's get going, Tenderfoot."

Inside the Darlings' house, Lady and the Tramp sat on the mid-floor landing of the staircase, watching through the big, bright window. The old canine couple saw Scamp and Angel walk out the backyard and over to the open gate. They both slipped off the collars that signified life as a house pet, then they ran out the yard, down the street, and out of sight.

"They really did go…" Lady sighed, but couldn't help feeling happy for them.

"Like they said they would, Pidge," Tramp smiled to her, "We've all known Scamp and Angel have wanted this for a while."

"I'm still miss them terribly. And so will Jim Dear and Darling. Oh, and _Junior_! He always loved playing with Scamp."

"Junior is starting school now, so I'm sure he'll be plenty busy. But I know he'll miss them both," Tramp nodded, then grinned at his lady love, "He still has us, though! You and I may be getting older, but we can still play with the boy!"

"Our lives sure will be slower now, with the girls gone, and now them."

"Well, sure, but that's all part of being a parent, isn't it? Kids have got to grow up and start their own lives eventually."

"They do," Lady agreed. She knew that this day would come, and she'd always been afraid that it would be much harder to bear. But lying next to Tramp, the sun streaming through the window and warming their fur, Lady knew that the two of them would be just fine, "I love you, Tramp. You know I love you."

"I know you do. And I love you, Pidge. I love you so, so much."

* * *

Scamp and Angel ran through the dirt roads and brick streets of the town that they knew so well. After all, they had been running the streets for years now. The two dogs passed by all the old sights from years past - the romantic Italian restaurant, Tony's; the beautiful park where couples strolled under the night sky; the town junkyard where they had gotten to know each other in Buster's gang; even the dog pound they had evaded and escaped on several occasions. The town's every alleyway, wooden house, backstreet, and trash bin was well known to them.

"But now it's time to move on," Angel whispered to him as they strolled together under the late afternoon sun.

"That's right. Everyone's gotta' move on sooner or later," Scamp nodded. He had been apprehensive about this day for so long, but now only excitement coursed through his body, the yearning for adventure that he'd felt since he was a headstrong puppy, "Now it's our turn."

As they neared the edge of town, Scamp gazed out at the distant mountains and forests, fields and towns beyond the horizon and past what he could see with his own two eyes. All his life, Scamp had known there were lands and places far away from the little town he'd always called home.

He nodded for Angel to join him in staring out to the great beyond, "Look at it all. There's a great big hunk of world out there with no fence around it, where two dogs can find adventure and excitement, and beyond those distant hills… who knows what wonderful experiences. And it's all ours for the taking, Angel. It's all ours."

"You're right, Tenderfoot," she grinned, her heart still fluttering from his lovable optimism, even after so many years of hearing it, "Now, are we gonna' get on that train or what?"

The two of them had made their way down to the train yard, and just like the day Angel and her mother had left town and Scamp had hopped on after them, the afternoon train was blaring its whistle and getting ready to leave. Just like that day, the two of them jumped up into an open compartment of the train.

The engine roared into action, the steam whistle hissed and bellowed yet again, the wheels slowly but surely began rolling, and the two dogs felt the floor underneath their paws begin moving. The steel horse had begun chugging and chugging away, picking up speed as it ran along the rails, and soon they had left their quaint little New England town far behind them.

"So what do you think we'll do now, Tenderfoot? Where will we go?" Angel asked, her lavender eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Anything we want! Anywhere we please!" Scamp woofed, sharing her excitement as he stared out at the rushing blur of fields and trees, "As long as I'm with you, anywhere is home."

"_You're_ my home, Tenderfoot," Angel whispered, snuggling against him lovingly.

They were both quiet for a long while, content to gaze out at the passing colors and speeding grasses, meadows, forests, holding each other close. Angel spoke up first, asking, "Do you suppose we'll ever settle down some place? Maybe we could find a nice farm, stay in a comfortable, warm barn, with plenty of food and hay…"

"I think I'd like that," Scamp beamed at her, his beloved angel, "Y'know, my dad always teased me about… well, about what our kids might be like. Our puppies."

"Getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we?"

"I guess so, yeah," he laughed, "But I always thought that if… if we had a son… we could name him Champ."

"_Champ_? Oh, very clever, Tenderfoot," Angel grinned, "First Tramp, then Scamp, then- "

" -Yeah, that's the idea," Scamp chuckled, snuggling against her again, "But that can come later. Right now, we've got the world to explore. Together."

Their train steamed off, taking the two dogs past the fields and over the mountains, chugging far, far away under the early evening sun and vanishing into the distant horizon.


End file.
